Therapy
by The-Passionate-Sun
Summary: "Aren't you supposed to be fixing me or something?" "Why," she asked, leaning forward, elbows against her desk. "Do you think something is wrong with you?" When Klaus Mikaelson finds out that his dead wife was cheating on him, he lets his life fall apart. It's only when he's forced into therapy that he learns how to put it back together. Klaroline-AU/AH- ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**I just wanted to thank Leonie (leetje ) for the excellent graphic she's made, and Briana (stoppunchingmyllama ) and Tanya (klaussdick) for beta-ing and not punching me in the face when I nag them to read/edit this.

They are awesome.

* * *

**FIVE YEARS AGO. **

_**NEW YORK CITY. THE PLAZA HOTEL. 8:30 PM**_

The call came during the reception.

She was sitting with Katherine, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Elijah, the latter of the whom was fiddling with his phone. A wealthy businessman, Elijah was known for being notoriously busy all the time, and while he'd put his business to the side for the sake of his sister-in-law's wedding day, Caroline figured that sending out e-mails was probably more enjoyable for him than watching Elena and Damon make their rounds around the room.

Katherine followed her gaze to the newly-married couple. "They are pretty cute, aren't they?"

Bonnie's eyes narrowed at Damon, watching as his arm rested on the small of Elena's back, her mouth curving into a snarl. Caroline pointedly glared at her friend, and Bonnie relented. She knew that Bonnie and Damon had had their issues in the past, but there was no excuse to go and bring up dirty laundry at the wedding. This event had been a long-time coming, and now that it was almost over, everyone could just breathe a little easier. They had all suffered enough drama at the hands of Elena and Damon to last a lifetime.

"I can't believe my sister's married," Jeremy commented, sighing. "I feel so old."

"Excuse you," Katherine said, slapping Jeremy's shoulder. "I don't remember you being this sad when I got married."

"I was a senior in college two years ago! I _was _young."

"Why is Stefan dancing with my sister?" Elijah asked suspiciously, finally looking up from his phone. He didn't sound angry, just curious. Turning to his wife, he added, "Kat. Why is he dancing with Rebekah?"

"Because she asked him to dance, and he said yes," Katherine replied, as if it was as simple as that.

Elijah paused for a moment, stood up, and then offered his hand to his wife. She smirked at him, putting her hand in his as he led them to the dance floor. Caroline looked around as Bonnie and Jeremy went up to dance, too. She, Matt, and Tyler were the only ones left at the table, and Matt seemed to realize this almost as soon as she did.

"Let's dance, Caroline," he said quickly, pushing off his chair. Tyler scowled at the two of them, but Matt ignored his friend and held his hand out to Caroline. She smiled and took it, and he twirled her around playfully, eliciting a small laugh from her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, as soon as they were out of Tyler's earshot. "Things have been rough since he and I broke up. I don't know, Matt. It's been six months, shouldn't he be less hostile by now?"

"I don't know, Care," Matt told her honestly, pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his went around her waist. "But let's just have fun tonight and forget about Tyler, okay?"

She laughed and rested her head against his chest, reveling in the fact that he was warm, solid, and _there_. Tyler had never wanted to dance with her, and they'd never really gone out anywhere as a couple. He'd always been too busy to give any importance to what she wanted to do, and she'd always been too busy to want to go to any of his important events with him. Matt, on the other hand, had been a good friend of hers for as long as she could remember. Now that she was out of medical school and doing her psychiatric residency, she finally felt as if her life was falling into place. She was free of Tyler, she was starting a successful professional career, and she felt unadulterated happiness. This night, with the crazy dancing, the cheesy music, and all of her best friends, was something to be remembered. She wasn't close to getting married anytime soon, but she didn't really _want _to. She had the rest of her life ahead of her, why rush it?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Katherine and Elijah suddenly pushed past her. She lifted her head from Matt's chest and, at his cue, followed the pair past the doors of the Plaza ballroom and into the plush hallway beyond. Elijah was speaking rapidly into his phone, a worried look on his face, and Katherine was fiddling with hers. If either of them noticed Caroline and Matt, they didn't say anything.

"There's a flight to Heathrow leaving in an hour and a half. It's out of JFK, so we can make it if we leave now," Katherine said, looking up from her phone. Noticing Caroline and Matt, she added, "Can one of you guys get Elena, Rebekah, and Kol? And my purse, too. I have to go upstairs and pack. We need to leave."

They split up, Matt going back into the ballroom to get Elijah's siblings and Elena, while Caroline went upstairs with Katherine to help however she could. They passed Elijah on the way to the elevators, and she was finally close enough to hear what he was saying.

"Nik, calm down. She's going to be fine, Nik. No. Stop. _Nothing_ is going to happen to Tatia. Katherine's already booked the tickets, okay? We'll be there by morning. _Niklaus,_" Elijah said sharply. "Nothing is going to happen to your wife."

Even though she didn't know the woman, Caroline felt a pang in her heart. Minutes ago she'd been thinking about how she had the rest of her life in front of her, and yet Elijah's sister-in-law, who couldn't have been more than four years older than her, was dying. The world was a cruel place.

Katherine didn't say anything in the elevator, just checked her family in for the flight as Caroline looked on. She knew the Mikaelsons were well off, so flying off to London at the drop of a hat wasn't a big deal. Still, she couldn't help but be worried. She didn't know Tatia or her husband, but she did know that her best friend was hurting.

Growing up, Elena and Bonnie had always stuck together, and while the four of them had always been close, Katherine and Caroline had understood each other in a way the other two hadn't. They'd always been ambitious, and in the long run, it had paid off in the form of Harvard. Elena and Bonnie had both decided on NYU, where they'd met Rebekah and Damon, and now, for the first time since they were seventeen, the four of them were finally in the same city again.

"Kat," Caroline said softly, not wanting to startle her best friend. "You okay?"

Katherine gave her the tiniest of nods, but Caroline wasn't convinced. She reached out to wrap her arms around Katherine, but the elevator dinged and the doors opened. They walked to the penthouse suite in silence, and once she opened the door, Katherine instructed Caroline to pack whichever of Rebekah and Kol's things she could get her hands on in two minutes. They were on a tight schedule, and Elijah was supposed to be hailing a cab. There was no time to waste, not if they needed to be in London by morning.

Not if Nik needed them.

She didn't bother to ask who Niklaus was, having seen him once before as the best man at Elijah and Katherine's wedding. She herself had been Maid of Honor, but they hadn't interacted much. By now, she'dforgotten what he'd even looked like.

"Are you done, Caroline?" Katherine asked three minutes later. She walked out of one of the individual bedrooms, one giant black duffle bag in one hand, Elijah's briefcase in the other. "I only packed the bare essentials, we can have everything else mailed or something. Elena will take care of it, or you can. I don't know-"

"I've got everything," Caroline interrupted, holding up the bags in her own hands. "I will take care of everything here, okay? You just get on that flight and take care of your sister-in-law."

Katherine sighed, biting her lip. "It's not Tatia I'm worried about. It's Nik."

Well, that was a whole can of worms that Caroline didn't really want to get into. Whatever was happening with the Mikaelson family should stay within the Mikaelson family. It really wasn't her place to pry.

"Nik and Tatia will both be fine," she reassured. "Now let's get you to your husband, okay?"

Downstairs, a crowd had gathered. Elena was hugging Elijah, tears streaming down her face, and even Damon looked regretful. Stefan was holding a fragile-looking Rebekah, and Kol looked pale and unsteady, ready to fall down any moment. Without anyone having to say anything, Katherine and Caroline could both guess what had happened.

"Henrik called," Elijah said, his voice somber, eyes cold and dead. Katherine put her hand over her mouth, trying to muffle a strangled cry. Elijah reached out and pulled his wife to him, and that seemed to be the cue for everyone else to start moving. Matt and Kol started walking towards Caroline, the latter reaching out for the bags in her hand. He gave her a curt nod, went to collect his sister from Stefan, and followed Elijah and Katherine as they made their way through the lobby to the taxi waiting outside.

Elena fell against Damon. "Is this really happening? Did someone we know really just die on our wedding day?"

Matt wrapped his arm around Caroline. "It isn't their wedding day in London, though, is it?" he whispered against her hair, his lame but good-hearted attempt at lightening the mood.

"Matt," she said warningly. "Now is not the time."

"I know. But God, I don't envy the poor man who just lost his wife."

Caroline smiled bitterly. "The dead get away easy. It's always the living that are left to deal with the pain."

* * *

_**LONDON. CHELSEA AND WESTMINSTER HOSPITAL. 1:45 AM.**_

Nik sat rigidly, staring at his hands in horror.

Tatia was dying.

His _wife_ was dying.

His _wife _was _dying._

"Nik," a voice said, just above him. "Nik, snap out of it. She's going to be fine."

Nik shook his head free of thoughts of Tatia and looked up to see his youngest brother holding two cups of coffee in his hand.

"Drink up," Henrik said, shoving one of the cardboard cups at him. Nik grabbed the cup as Henrik took a seat and pulled out his phone, probably to call Finn and find out where the hell their oldest brother was. Elijah, Katherine, Kol, and Rebekah had already booked tickets for a flight over the Atlantic Ocean, but Finn should have been at the hospital by now.

His phone rang, some stupid song Tatia had programmed onto it two days ago blaring out, and he slid his thumb across the screen to answer.

"Niklaus, we're on our way," Sage's voice filtered into his ear. "I'm so sorry, we got stuck in traffic and we had to find a last-minute babysitter. Our nanny can't come until morning."

Nik sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. His wife was dying, his eldest brother was stuck in traffic, and he was sitting on an uncomfortable chair with only a thirteen-year-old for company. "Sage, it's fine. Just... just please get here as soon as you can?"

"We're on our way," she promised. "We'll be there soon."

She paused for a second before repeating the same words of comfort everyone had been directing at him. "She's going to be fine, Nik."

He didn't say anything to her, just hung up the phone and stared at the wall. Henrik didn't bother trying to make conversation, since there wasn't anything to say. The last time he'd been in this hospital, in this waiting room, he'd found out his parents had died. That was four years ago, and since then, he'd lived with Nik. The person he was closest to was this brother.

Now Nik was going through hell, and the last thing Henrik wanted to do was say something stupid or insensitive to cause his older brother even more pain. So they sat in silence for the next thirty-five minutes,(and yes Henrik counted), until Finn and Sage came bursting through the waiting room doors. Sage enveloped Nik into a hug, and he finally broke down. Henrik hadn't seen any of his older brothers cry more than twice in his life: on the day of their parents' death and the subsequent funeral. Esther and Mikael had been lucky enough to go together, but now Nik was going to be alone, left to deal with the hole that his wife left behind.

"Niklaus Mikaelson?"

The group looked up to see a doctor coming towards them from the opposite end of the waiting room. He had a file in his hand, obviously Tatia's, and a grim expression that told them all they needed to know.

"I'm Dr. Reid," he said, extending a hand to them. Henrik stared at his family, and, finally realizing that no one else was going to, shook the doctor's hand. "I was in the operating room with your sister. She has unfortunately fallen into a coma. The next twenty-four hours are crucial, and if she doesn't wake up by then-"

"_Sister_?" Nik asked in confusion, his brow furrowing skeptically.

The doctor was taken aback. "Yes, Tatia...Mikaelson? She and her husband were admitted about an hour ago-"

"What do you mean 'she and her _husband'_? _I'm_ her husband."

Reid hadn't been expecting that. "I'm sorry, what?"

He started going through the file, only to decide halfway through that any answers he needed weren't going to be found in there.

"What the bloody hell are you looking for in your stupid files? Tatia Mikaelson is a patient at this hospital, am I correct?" Nik asked, voice low. He stepped closer to the doctor, his eyes alight with a fury that neither of his brothers had seen in months. "You seem to have mistaken my wife with someone else."

"No, actually, sir, she was brought in with another man. The ambulance picked the both of them up from the same car. He said they were married."

He said _what? _Some other man had claimed to be married to Tatia?

Why the hell was she even _with_ a man who wasn't him in the middle of the night, so close to their home in Chelsea?

Suddenly, it all made sense to him. Her late nights at work and all the traffic she got stuck in when she went to check out a venue. Every horrible excuse she'd ever told him came to mind, every time her smile never seemed to reach her eyes, every time she avoided his touch, every time she looked so lost and alone even when he stood right next to her.

Memories flashed through his mind, things finally beginning to make sense.

'_Nik, I've got to work_,' floated through his mind. '_I can't help it if they messed up the schedule for the venue!' _

'_The client just wouldn't stop talking, honestly. I'm so sorry I missed dinner, but I couldn't afford to be rude.'_

'_Don't stay up for me, I'll be home just as soon as I finish the master plan for the event, alright?'_

How many times had she used those excuses, free of suspicion?

She'd been cheating on him.

She'd had another man.

Nik wanted to punch something.

So he did.

He fisted his right hand, brought it up to his mouth in an effort to stop himself from saying something stupid, but finally stopped resisting the urge to lash out. He walked to the closest wall and punched it as hard as he could.

"Sir, you can't-" Reid tried to interrupt.

"You," Finn interjected, cutting the doctor off, and placing a hand on his shoulder. "You just told the man that his wife was cheating on him. Unless you want him punching _you_, it would be wise that you just kept quiet."

"Finn, stop," Sage said quietly, pulling on her husband's sleeve in an effort to get him to lower his hand. Henrik, meanwhile, ventured over to his grieving brother, who had stopped punching the wall after three good hits. Nik's hand was covered in blood by now, so it was a good thing they were in the hospital.

The dents on the wall, however, weren't something the good doctor Reid could fix.

When Nik woke up the next afternoon, his entire family, nieces included, were in the waiting room with him, his hand was covered in bandages, and his wife was dead.

She had also been cheating on him, he realized, the memories of last night coming back to him as he stared at his bandaged hand, the throbbing pain serving as a reminder to keep his temper in check.

Waking up in the middle of the night to the call from the hospital, rousing Henrik from his sleep, and crying on the phone to Elijah, it all came flooding back.

With a jolt, he realized that his frantic call and Henrik's subsequent news must have ruined Katherine's sister's wedding reception.

They were all still in their formal clothing, having come straight to the hospital from the airport, and Nik suddenly felt so _incredibly grateful _for their presence. There was a giant hole in his heart and he didn't know what to do with it, what to say.

He said nothing.

"Nik," Rebekah said softly, stepping forward.

"Bekah," he replied, pulling her into his arms. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Bekah. I'm so, so sorry."

She was already crying. "Why are you saying sorry to me, Nik? You're the one who just lost your world."

Nik laughed bitterly, his warm breath hitting Bekah's cheek. "I can't very well say it to myself, now, can I?"

No, she supposed. He really couldn't.

_There they were_, Henrik thought. Once again, the mighty Mikaelsons, spouses, children, and all, brought together by the most tragic circumstance of all.

Death.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you guys liked it. If you did, please review! I will be posting every Saturday, maybe even sooner, if I get good feedback. Thank you for taking the time to read this fic!

Follow me on tumblr at _asecretbrotherhoodhandshake _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you guys SO much for all of your amazing feedback. There was an overwhelming amount of reviews, but I can't complain, especially since you were all so supportive! I'm going to be posting every Saturday, but I'm going to be in the car all day tomorrow (Vegas, baby!), so I figured I should pre-pone this instead of waiting until I got home.

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**2012. NEW YORK CITY. **_

"Nik," Henrik grunted, trying to lift the stack of boxes in front of him. "Since when do you have so much _crap?" _He slid the three boxes off the chair they were on and gripped them firmly, only to underestimate how heavy they would be piled on top of each other. He promptly dumped them back on the chair and turned around to face his brother.

"Half this shit is yours, Henrik," Nik said.

"Excuse you," his younger brother retorted. He stretched, feeling the stress relieve itself as his bones cracked, and then smiled widely, his tone softening. "I can't believe you moved to New York for me."

"Yes, well, it seems I've grown somewhat attached to you, having taken care of you for nearly a decade. Besides, it seems that I have..._outgrown_ London."

Instantly, Henrik felt bad for bringing up the topic. It was his fault that Nik had stayed in London after Tatia's death in the first place. Months after their sister-in-law's passing, Elijah had urged Nik to finally move to New York, but Nik had refused.

"_Finn can handle headquarters in London_," Elijah had said. "_Why don't you come and help us set up properly in New York? It'll be a fresh start for you."  
_

"_I'm not going to run from my problems,"_ Nik had replied decisively, his voice low. "_Besides, I took Henrik in, remember? You or Finn easily could have done it, but_ I chose_ to take on that responsibility. And, when I did, I thought that I wouldn't be moving from London, and he needed that. He needs to stay here, and I can't put my needs above his."_

Nik hadn't known that he'd been listening, but it wasn't like he'd meant to eavesdrop. He'd had a hard time sleeping after Tatia died, and one night he'd overheard the conversation between two of his older brothers.

Nik was, in certain respects, honorable, almost to the point where he took it too far. He didn't trust women anymore, save for the ones he was related to, and he hated being reminded that his life was moving on despite his wife's death. His move to New York was unexpected, to say the least, but Henrik's college education had spurred Nik into action. The timing had been impeccable. In London, Nik had been the Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, but Mikaelson Pierce's CFO had stepped down a few months ago. Nik had decided to fill the spot, a decision that both Elijah and Katherine supported, as long as he moved to New York. As Chief Financial Officer, he was needed on Wall Street.

More than that, though, he'd _wanted_ to move.

It was a good first step to the rest of his life.

"Knock knock," Katherine said, tapping her hand on the open front door of the apartment. She was smiling, her eyes bright and takeout cartons tucker under her arms. "I come bearing food," she said, extending her arms out.

Henrik ran to her, enthusiastically grabbing the boxes of food, and made his way to the kitchen. Nik and Katherine watched him disappear through the door at the other end of the living room in silence.

"So," Katherine started, crossing her arms across her chest. She tilted her head to one side, scrutinizing her brother-in-law.

"So?" Nik said expectantly, raising his eyebrows at her.

"_So..._"

"I don't know what you're trying to say, Katherine," he said with a cheeky smile. He walked over to the couch, and, clearing some space, sat down. He lifted his legs and rested them on the coffee table. "Won't you sit down? We can have a little chat."

"Nik," she sighed, making her way through the stacks of his unpacked boxes to stand by his legs. She kicked his shins, forcing him to plant his feet firmly on the ground, and sat in the now-empty space.

"That's really old wood, I hope you know that."

"Shut up."

"No, seriously I'm very attached to that coffee table, it's the only piece of furniture I've brought from London. I'd appreciate if you didn't sit on it."

She thought about it. "Yeah, I bet you would. But you know what?_ I _would appreciate it if you started living your life. And, unfortunately for you, your brother spoiled me. I'm _really_ used to getting what I want."

"We can't all be your playthings, Katherine."

"Oh yeah?" She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs. "Try me."

"What do you think is going to happen? I'm going to come out with you to a bar or a club or wherever, see a beautiful woman, and instantly forget about Tatia?"

"Don't you dare pull the Tatia card on me, you little bitch. Your brothers might fall for it, since they don't like talking about feelings, but I am a force not to be messed with."

"You are trying very hard to be intimidating," Nik drawled. "I'm almost impressed."

"It would be wise to not rile up my wife, Niklaus," Elijah said calmly, walking into the apartment. He looked around at the mess of a living room, full of light and pastel colors. "She decorated your apartment well."

Katherine smiled brightly at her husband, happy to receive some sort of recognition. Elijah knew that she had spent the three months before Nik's move furnishing his apartment, putting in great care to fill the large apartment with lots of light and space. His brother wasn't too particular about decor, but he knew Nik didn't like the futuristic crap that Kol had filled his own home with. Glass and sleek chrome were not Nik's thing, and so she'd gone ahead and filled it with warm colors and wooden furniture, none of which Nik had noticed.

At least, not until Elijah brought it up.

"She did, actually," Nik said, looking around. "Thank you, Katherine. I can tell you put a lot of work into this."

She jumped up. "Yes, well, everything comes with a price. I expect you to come out with us tonight, and I'm not taking no for an answer, so tough luck."

"I don't want to go out tonight," Nik protested, getting to his feet too. "Why does nobody ever take into account what I want?"

"Because what you want is usually stupid," Henrik said, appearing from, presumably, the kitchen. He'd been starving, so he'd taken the food inside. Nik had a rule about tidiness, and food was not allowed anywhere but the kitchen for fear of spills and stains. No one liked to eat alone, though, so Henrik had scarfed down his lunch quickly and come right back outside. He nodded in greeting to Elijah, but didn't say anything.

"I'm not leaving you alone tonight."

"Stop using me as your crutch to hide from the world, Nik. Besides, I'm moved into my dorm, remember? I'll be on the other side of Manhattan and you don't really want to spend the rest of your night being old and sad, do you?"

"I'm not old," Nik growled, clenching his fist. "Why do you insist on testing my patience, Henrik?"

"It's fun," Henrik shrugged. The corners of Elijah's lips twitched, but while he tried to hold back his amusement, his wife did not. Katherine burst into laughter, giggling at the display.

"You guys are so cute."

Henrik looked affronted. "Excuse me. I am an eighteen-year-old _man. _I am not _cute."_

"Whatever you say, Henry. Anyway," Katherine dismissed, checking her watch. "I have to go, I'm meeting the girls for lunch, but Nik you have to come tonight, okay? You have to!"

"We'll see," Nik told her, walking with her to the door. "I make no promises, but I will try to be there."

Katherine almost made it out the door without a snappy retort, but at the last moment, she decided to forgo being the bigger person. She turned, jammed her finger into Klaus' chest, and said, "If you make up some stupid excuse about having to _check your schedule, _I will cut you in your sleep."

"You can't get in."

"I have a key," she smirked. She turned her attention to her husband, eyes flicking down his form. "Want to give me a ride to the restaurant? I feel like we haven't been _alone _in forever."

Elijah's eyebrows shot up, surprised at his wife's blatant flirting. He couldn't say no, though, so he simply walked past his brothers, grabbed her hand, and then pulled her out of the apartment, calling out a goodbye in the process. Never mind that he'd planned to spend the afternoon with his brothers. Nik lived in their neighborhood now. He'd see his brother all the time.

Nik shut the door behind them, locking it for good measure. If he left it open, who knew which family members would come crawling through next?

When he turned around, Henrik was staring at him expectantly.

"What? Why is everyone looking at me like I have the answers to all the mysteries of the universe?"

"Has anyone ever told you how self absorbed you are, Nik?"

"I thought it was common knowledge."

"Okay, I'm going to go to school. And stay there, for a really long time," Henrik said, checking his pockets. "I've got my keys and my phone. Don't wait up, I won't be coming home tonight."

"Way to bite the hand that feeds you, Henrik," Nik called out after his brother. Henrik didn't respond, slamming the front door behind him. Nik sighed, "Teenagers. Typical."

* * *

"You think he's okay?" Katherine asked Elijah worriedly. It had been five years since Tatia's death and Nik's retreat into himself, and he was finally becoming his old self again. Small steps were good, she knew, but she couldn't help but want the old Nik back. Now, preferably.

Elijah took her hand in his and started rubbing circles with his thumb. Her skin was like smooth silk under his fingers. "He's going to be fine."

"What if he isn't? I don't think I can take this tough guy act any longer. He needs help. He needs to open up and talk to someone."

"That's really not your decision to make, Katherine." Elijah pointed out, his voice stern.

"I don't really care, Elijah. I'm worried about him, okay? And if we let him just go on the way he's been, anti-social and rude to anyone he's not related to, he's going to end up alone. I don't want the girls growing up around grumpy uncle Nik."

"The girls will be fine. Nik will be fine. We will _all _be fine."

"You sound like a broken record," she said, laughing quietly. She slipped her hand behind his neck and sidled closer to him, pulling him down for a kiss.

He resisted, stopping just before their lips touched. "Kat, he _will _be fine."

She pulled away, instantly irritated. "Yes, please let's continue to talk about your brother while I'm trying to kiss you, Elijah. It makes me feel _so_ wanted."

Elijah gaped at her as she slid away from him, opening her door as the taxi pulled to a stop. She grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car, leaning down only to tell him that he'd be sleeping on the couch that night.

What was her problem? Thirty seconds ago she'd been discussing Nik and her worries about him, and then when he tried to contribute to the conversation, she got irritated? He loved his wife, but she was something entirely different than what he'd been used to. Nine years together had done nothing in terms of understanding her better, but he liked the fact that she continued to surprise him. He couldn't find the words to accurately describe his Katherine, but that wasn't because he didn't know what to say. It was simply because he had _too_ _much_ to say.

He shook his head free of such thoughts and told the taxi driver where to take him next. Katherine had disappeared into the restaurant, and if Caroline was in there, Elijah had a feeling that he knew what his wife was going to do.

* * *

"Please tell me you guys ordered already," Caroline asked impatiently, dropping into the seat across from Katherine. She'd been fifteen minutes late to their weekly lunch, since a client's session had gone on a little too long. Anna was only fifteen. At that age, she already felt like nobody listened to her. To have her therapist tell her that she needed to go to lunch would have been a blow to her self esteem, so Caroline had stayed an extra ten minutes. "I'm starving."

"We did."

"Oh, great! Are we going out tonight?"

"We are," Katherine replied. "And when I say 'we', I mean everyone."

Elena looked up at her half-sister. "_Everyone?"_

"Yeah, it's going to be Nik's first night out in the city."

"And he's agreed to this?" Elena asked with raised eyebrows. "Because he didn't seem especially excited to do, well, _anything _whenImethim_." _

"Wait, what's happening here?" Bonnie asked, her gaze divided between Elena and Katherine.

"My brother-in-law moved to New York from London, finally-"

"Oh, you mean, the one whose apartment I put together, but you took all the credit for?" Caroline interrupted.

"Yes, that one, and you're an amazing friend for doing that, Caroline, but please don't tell anyone that's not sitting at this table. Elijah and Nik..."

Caroline shook her head at Katherine, and the latter continued. "Anyway, Henrik's moved into his dorm now so Nik is lonely, and we thought that it would be a good idea to introduce him to all of our friends here in the city."

"Sure," Bonnie agreed. "I don't know what Jeremy's up to, but I'll be there."

"Great," Katherine said happily. "He's been kind of a recluse since his wife died, but I feel like he really just needs a push to get back out there."

"His wife died?"

"At my wedding," Elena answered Caroline's question.

"No one died at your-," she paused, the memory coming back to her. "Oh, my God, I know who you're talking about! Tatia and Nik, right?"

"Yes."

"We spent three days packing up your hotel suite. Kol packed so much shit for just that weekend."

"Sometimes I wonder about you, Caroline," Bonnie said, looking at Caroline with an amused smile. "I mean, how is it that you're supposed to be this compassionate, empathetic person for a living? At work you're this sweet angel who listens and helps, and then-"

"Okay first of all, you have some serious misconceptions about my job. Second of all, I _am _empathetic and compassionate, but I don't know Nik. I've met him once, seven years ago. I don't even know what he looks like anymore! I deal with people's problems on a daily basis, so I can't afford to feel sorry for a guy who lives in the past and doesn't want to move on from his wife. If I was his shrink, I would really want to know why he's holding on so tightly. But I'm not, so I don't really care. I'm not obligated to, professionally or personally. I felt sad when it happened, but I didn't know her. I'm not going to let it ruin my day."

"Whoa, way to let it out Caroline. I was just saying..."

"I know, I know," she sighed. Her melancholy expression lasted all of two seconds before she took a deep breathe and shot them all a bright smile. "I'm here for you guys, no matter what you want to talk about."

They couldn't help but smile. Caroline was, for all intents and purposes, the nicest one. She'd been there for all of them at some point in time, rarely asking for anything in return, except their help when dealing with her neuroticism. While she was a perfectionist, she also put others above herself. She'd been working at a private practice for the past three years, and she'd managed to build a name for herself and a relatively large set of patients. It was safe to say that she was extremely good at her job, and with good reason. Her patients trusted her. They connected with her.

She made them feel like they were worth listening to.

And suddenly, Katherine had an idea. She stood up quickly and grabbed Caroline from her chair. Caroline almost tripped on her high heels, but they managed to make their way to the bathroom without any incident.

"What the fuck, Katherine?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

"Okay, fine, but was it really necessary to drag me through the restaurant like an imbecile?"

"...Maybe not, but it was fun while it lasted."

Caroline was not amused. She crossed her arms over her chest, started tapping her foot, and tilted her head to the side. "Speak."

"I need you to take on Nik as a patient."

The blonde didn't even bat an eyelash. "No."

"What do you mean, 'No'? Why not?"

"Because my patients come to _me, _not the other way around. You can't just go up to someone and ask them if you can be their therapist, Katherine."

"I know, I know," Katherine said hastily. "Look, he's been dealing with a lot of issues since his wife died. Elijah and I are really worried about him, and I don't know what else to do. We'll get him to your office, on time, for whenever you decide to schedule the appointment. He'll like you, Caroline, everyone does! Just have one trial session, and if he decides to stick around, then Elijah and I will pay you, in full, for fifteen weeks."

"This is not about the money," Caroline said. "This is my profession. I'm sorry that you are worried about him, but like I said earlier, this is not my problem. I'm good at what I do, Katherine, but I can't help someone that doesn't want to helped. Either he seeks me out himself or no deal. And," she pointed her finger, glaring. "You can't blackmail him into it, or I will find out."

"Caroline, you don't understand. Nik isn't... God, it's like he just doesn't think he's worth anyone's effort anymore. He's not suicidal or anything, but it's like he's _resigned _to living out the rest of his life alone. He doesn't like meeting people, he doesn't trust anyone outside of the family... For God's sakes, he moved to New York, but only because Henrik was coming here, too. It's sweet, but also slightly possessive. I don't know, okay, I'm not good at understanding people like you are, I work in finance for crying out loud," she threw her hands up. "Look, I know you don't want to do this for him, but can you please do it for me? Please."

Caroline couldn't even meet Katherine's eyes. "I prefer it when my patients actually _want_ to come see me."

"I know you do. But I guarantee that if you give him one chance, a trial session, he will come back every single time. You are the only person I trust to get through to him. Please, Caroline? Please."

Caroline groaned, not believing what she was about to do. "Fine," she bit out. "But you owe me, _big_. _One _trial session. _One_. Call the office and set it up."

Katherine felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest. "Thank you. Seriously."

"Yeah, save it," Caroline cut her off, putting her hand up. She was annoyed at the magnitude of this favor, but she knew that she'd be asking the same thing if she was in Katherine's place. "You're paying for all of my drinks tonight."

"Of course."

"And you're paying me in full, even if he decides to stop coming halfway through."

"Of course."

"And you name your next child after me."

"Don't push it."

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you guys liked Chapter 2. I know they haven't met yet, but they will in Chapter 3. Therapy sessions will begin soon after.

Also, on Wednesdays, I post Sneak Peeks to the next chapter on my Tumblr, _asecretbrotherhoodhandshake. _

For those of you that don't like slow burn fics, fair warning. This is very much going to be a slow burn fic, but I really do hope you stick around for the ride.

~Meha


	3. Chapter 3

The apartment was too quiet, he thought. He couldn't remember the last time that he'd been at home, sitting in such deep silence.

It wasn't _normal_, not to him. Usually, when he was at home, Henrik was too. In fact, he'd typically managed to work his schedule around that of his younger brother's, so that even when he was working late, Henrik was out at a sporting event, study group, or with friends. Evenings and weekends were reserved for the two of them, and, while Henrik had started spending more and more of his time holed up in his room studying, Nik was always treated to bad rock music blasting out from Henrik's room, too loud to be held in by a closed door. Of course, there were always the days when the two of them would spread all of their work out onto the dining table, muttering and cursing under their breaths.

This silence was different than the silence on Saturday mornings, the time when he'd have a cup of tea and read the newspaper, content to just wait until Henrik woke up and decided to make breakfast.

This silence was the deep, empty kind, that only emphasized how truly lonely he was. There was no one else here in the apartment with him, and now that Henrik had moved into his dorm, company would be rare. Unless, of course, the rest of his siblings decided to continually guilt trip him into going out with them.

Then again, considering how bored out of his mind he was right now, maybe going out tonight wouldn't be such a bad idea.

He took one good look around the living room before deciding to explore, wanting to see the rest of his apartment. He'd seen pictures of it before he'd purchased it, but he'd never walked through it. The place was fairly large, and he didn't know how much time he'd be spending at home once he got to work. Katherine had insisted he take the first weekend off, citing jet lag as an excuse, but that didn't seem to deter her from wanting him to come out tonight.

That woman confused the hell out of him sometimes. He didn't know how Elijah could stand _working _with her, let alone _living_ with her.

His sister-in-law did have her uses though, he admitted to himself as he walked around. She'd decorated his apartment well, and had most of his furniture shipped and assembled early. He didn't know how she'd had the time to waste just to figure out how to place his paintings to the best possible lighting. As it was, she'd organized his home library, all three bedrooms, and set up the appliances in the kitchen. The only thing she hadn't touched was his studio, and only because he'd asked her not to.

It was the most organized move he'd ever made, a feat all the more impressive considering he'd come from across the Atlantic. Still, Katherine was nothing if not efficient, so he didn't know why he was surprised.

He made his way back to the living room and found the book that Henrik had bought at Heathrow sitting on the loveseat. He picked it up, read the blurb on the back, and decided to give it a try.

Half an hour later, he was _bored. _He didn't particularly care about a fat, insolent king whose queen was in love with her brother, nor did he understand what the Old Religion was. Henrik may have devoured the thousand-page book in six hours, but epic fantasy was not Nik's style.

He turned on the TV, one of the first things to have been properly set up, and was twenty minutes into a random episode of a legal drama with a far too attractive cast before Rebekah stormed in, hands full of garment bags, Kol in tow.

He could only say that he was surprised that it had taken them this long.

"Get up, Nik," she snapped at him, before spinning on her heels, blonde hair flying behind her. She entered the hallway leading to the rest of the apartment, and Nik was left to stare at Kol in confusion. His younger brother simply shrugged and raised his hands.

"I know nothing."

"Well, that's not surprising," Nik scoffed sarcastically, getting up from the couch. He followed Rebekah, expecting Kol to come, too, but when he looked back, Kol was making himself comfortable on the couch, flipping through channels.

Oh well. The Good Wife didn't really seem like Kol's style anyway.

Nik found Rebekah in his room, standing in front of his half-empty closet. The garment bags she'd been holding earlier were strewn across the bed, and all of the lights in his room were on, considering that the sun was setting.

He looked out the window in surprise. "When did it get so late in the day?"

"Well," his sister answered, not turning her attention away from the closet. She was sliding hangers across the rack in front of her, trying to find him an acceptable pair of jeans. "When you decide to wile away your day trying to immerse yourself in American popular culture, hours can fly."

"Did you know PBS was having a _Downton Abbey _marathon? Why are people so interested in eras past? Monarchies and castles are laden with history, but they didn't even have proper bathrooms back then. Americans are obsessed with the most ridiculous things."

"I didn't know you knew what Downton Abbey is."

"I didn't. I didn't know what Game of Thrones was either, but apparently incest is appealing to the American masses."

At this, Rebekah couldn't contain her laughter. She turned around, a hand to her mouth, and giggled. "You are insane."

"I was just sharing my thoughts, but please feel free to judge me."

"Oh, Nik," she let out a breath, trying to keep her smile under control. "You have nothing acceptable to wear tonight, but of course you'd be thinking about twelfth century _bathrooms_ and fictional incest."

He didn't understand the problem. "Why can't I just wear this? It's acceptable club attire."

Rebekah scrutinized him, dressed in dark wash jeans and a long-sleeved grey henley. "You look like you spent all day in your studio."

Nik looked down at himself. "There is not a single speck of paint on me!"

"Well it doesn't matter, you look like a hippie out of Brooklyn. The henleys are okay when you're at home or whatever, but please change before you go out in public."

"I feel like a law degree from Columbia is wasted on you, Rebekah, if your only goal in life is to make sure that your brothers are dressed appropriately wherever they are."

"Oh, shut it, Nik," she retorted, scowling. Gesturing to the bed, she added, "I came prepared. The black garment bag has your clothes, the grey has mine, and the white one has Kol's. Katherine said that you might put up a fight, so Kol and I are babysitting you until we all leave. _Together_."

"I was planning on coming anyway," Nik admitted. "It's...quiet without Henrik. Where are we going, though?"

"My restaurant, brother," Kol answered. Nik and Rebekah hadn't realized it, but Kol had been leaning against the doorway for at least thirty seconds. The faint sounds from the TV could still be heard, so he obviously hadn't turned it off. Power saver, Kol was not.

"We're going to 21 Club? For a family dinner?"

"It's not just family," Kol said, uncrossing his arms. He pushed off the doorway and made his way into the room. "Haven't unpacked your closet, I see."

"I have what I need, Kol," Nik answered before asking his own question. "What do you mean it isn't just family?"

"Our friends are going to be there, too. Katherine's siblings, their significant others and childhood friends. We've all made quite a cozy group over the years," Rebekah said swiftly. "We're inducting you tonight."

"I'm so _grateful _for this opportunity_," _Nik said sarcastically. "I'd like to thank-"

"Please stop trying to be funny," Kol said frankly. "It makes me want to kill myself."

Nik scowled. Before he could do more than that, Rebekah shoved the appropriate garment bag into his chest and pointed at the bathroom. She did the same thing to Kol, telling them both to hurry, and picked up her own outfit.

Fifteen minutes later, the sun had set completely, the boys were dressed, and Rebekah was still in the guest bathroom.

"Can we just leave her here?" Kol asked quietly.

"I think she'd kill us in our sleep."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Rebekah said, stepping out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a deep blue dress that cut off just above her knees and didn't make Nik want to turn her around and tell her to find something longer.

It was acceptable. He'd take it.

"How do I look?" she asked brightly, running her hand through her slightly curled hair.

"As if you spent too much time trying to look effortlessly beautiful," Kol answered with a smirk.

Nik wasn't in the mood to deal with a fight breaking out. As it was, going to 21 Club wasn't his idea of an ideal night, but it was a better idea than staying home alone and feeling like a loser who had no life.

He brushed aside that thought. Even on his worst days he couldn't think that low of himself.

Kol's phone beeped. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his iPhone, staring at it for less than five seconds. "Car's here."

Katherine had apparently sent a car to pick them up. At this point, Nik felt like it was too much, but he had no other choice than to get into the limo and think about how drunk he was going to get that night.

* * *

"I have to admit, I'm a little proud of Kol," Nik said to Elijah, slipping into the seat next to his brother. They'd taken over a corner booth in the very back of the Bar Room, and while it was the best seat in the house, nabbing it wasn't as impressive as it would have been if their younger brother hadn't owned the establishment. "I never thought that a loan that big would be payed off so quickly."

"It's a profitable place," Elijah commented, looking around the room. He raised his hand to call over the waiter that Kol had assigned to them, gesturing for drinks. Kol was probably behind the bar, somewhere. He'd know what to send back to the table.

Kol had been a big part of the club's remodeling. When he'd bought it, it had been one of New York City's oldest clubs. It had the benefit of an exclusive clientele and a reputation that could bring in enough business to keep afloat. There were, however, flaws that came with age. After more than a century, the building was finally reaching its breaking point, and the physical flaws were starting to negatively impact business. The previous owners, who'd had the property for less than ten years, wanted to sell it as soon as possible.

Mikaelson Pierce, as one of the big banks on Wall Street, had been Kol's obvious answer. His inheritance was large, but he was smart enough to know that if you could waste somebody else's money on a risky business instead of your own, you probably should, especially if you had no business partners.

Katherine had flat-out refused when Kol had come with the offer, saying that Mikaelson Pierce didn't deal with small businesses. Elijah, on the other hand, had rightly pointed out that any other bank would capitalize on Kol's name and reputation, and use it to their own advantage to maximize profits and then buy Kol out.

In the end, they'd had no choice.

Nik, an ocean away, had laughed at them for giving Kol the money, but now Kol was the one laughing.

21 Club had climbed its way back up the rankings, once again reigning as a hotspot for New York City nightlife. Kol had gone for a variety of different themes, one in each room, and the bar room they were currently sitting in seemed to appeal more to adults, as opposed to young twenty-somethings who abused their legal privilege to drink.

"You've never been here before?" someone asked, slipping into a seat on the opposite side of the booth. Nik recognized the man from the pictures in Rebekah's apartment. He was Stefan Salvatore.

"I've seen pictures," he replied. "But no. I flew in yesterday. This is my first night out on the town."

"You're Elijah's brother," the man said in understanding, sticking out his hand. "I'm Stefan Salvatore, Elena's brother-in-law."

"Jeremy's lover?" Nik asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Damon's brother," Stefan corrected, laughing. "But yeah. I've heard a lot about you."

"Katherine has a habit of talking too much when she's excited," Nik said, ignoring Elijah's attempt to jab him in the stomach. Rebekah had been dating Stefan on-and-off for a few years now, and they'd always paused their relationship when things got too serious. There was a running pool in the Mikaelson family dedicated to the length of time Rebekah could stay away from the younger Salvatore, but Stefan clearly didn't know that. Nik was baiting Stefan, and Elijah was too cautious for his own good.

"Actually," Stefan paused. "I meant from the office. I'm the new Head of Mergers and Acquisitions."

"You're also my sister's boyfriend," Nik drawled. "I inadvertently gave you a promotion when I gave myself a promotion. My mistake, it won't happen again."

Stefan snorted. "Touché."

By this time, the drinks had come, and the table was filled with all of Katherine and Elijah's friends. Kol was still off making sure his patrons were happy, but Katherine had dragged her siblings and their significant others to the table as soon as they'd arrived.

It took a few minutes, but he was finally able to loosen up. These people were almost like an extended family. They teased and taunted, but at the end of the day, there was something drawing them all together. They understood each other, and they wanted to understand him.

He figured he could let them try.

After half an hour, the women left to go sit at the bar, saying they needed their "girl time". He didn't see the point, considering they'd just had lunch together this afternoon, but he could never understand women. Why start trying now?

* * *

From her spot at the bar, Katherine could see the table clearly.

Nik was _happy, _she could see it from the look on his face. In the middle of a conversation with Stefan, Nik had suddenly broken into a wide smile. His eyebrows were raised and his arms were relaxed, and she could tell just by looking at him that he was letting his guard down. They'd only been there for two hours and he was already more comfortable than she'd seen him in a while.

She turned back to her sister, assured that there was no cause to worry.

"Where's Caroline?" Elena asked.

"She said she was running late. I wouldn't be too worried, though. She probably has a good reason," Bonnie reassured.

"Two _hours_?"

"She's a grown woman, Elena. She can take care of herself. I just hope that reason doesn't involve Matt," Katherine drawled, lifting her beer to her lips. "I mean, I love Matty, but the boy needs to move on."

"I think it's adorable that he wants her back. They were good together," Elena interjected, giving Katherine a pointed look. Katherine ignored her younger sister, choosing instead to look around the bar.

The place was, unsurprisingly, packed. It was a Friday night, and 21 Club was one of the oldest and most exclusive clubs in the city. When Kol had come to Mikaelson Pierce three years ago to ask them for an official bank loan, she had wanted to say no. It was Kol's first project and he had no business partners. His plan had been excellent, but the risk was too high.

Now, though, she could safely say that the establishment was one of the most successful endeavors that Mikaelson Pierce had attached its name to.

"Tell me, Katherine," a voice said into her ear. "Is everyone here because I'm here, or am I here because everyone else is here?"

She swiveled on her bar stool, only to see Nik's face only inches from hers. His eyes were boring into hers, expression hard. She sighed. "I thought you were having fun."

"I am," he said, tone softening. "Thank you, especially for introducing me to the Salvatores and Jeremy. It's actually the most fun I've had in a while. _But,_" he stressed. "It doesn't change the fact that you dragged all of these people out tonight solely to meet me, and you knew I didn't even want to come."

"Well, that's not true. Rebekah said that you were feeling lonely and you were going to end up coming even if I hadn't forced your hand. I don't see why you're so mad. Here's a thought," she brightened, sitting up straight. "Maybe you're irritated because, for once, _nothing_ is irritating you."

Nik gave her a curt nod, his lips pursed. "Alright, I'm done with this conversation. I'm going to go find Kol and see if he can spare some time with his..Is that _Henrik_?" he trailed off, eyes narrowing. His jaw clenched.

Katherine and Elena both looked up to see that Henrik was, in fact, making his way to the bar on the opposite side of the room. Nik was already moving in that direction, but Katherine hopped off her stool and went to find her husband.

"Nik," Kol called out, pushing through a crowd of people. He was smiling when he reached his brother. "What do you think of my venture."

"Why is Henrik here," Nik growled. "He's only eighteen."

"I- what? I invited him, Nik. Everyone else is here," Kol replied.

"You invi- you _invited _our _eighteen_ year old brother to your _club_? He brought friends, you idiot!"

"Of course he did! He's young, he's in college. I don't see what the problem is, he's only trying to have some fun."

Kol had given Henrik a free pass to the club. The boy's name was _on _the building, after all, and if the rest of his family was inside, Kol figured he'd be a pretty horrible brother if he left Henrik out of the festivities. He'd even agreed to letting in some of Henrik's friends, with the stipulation that they stay sober. Business was doing well, and the last thing the establishment needed was a scandal involving the owner's younger brother drinking underage with his friends.

Not to mention Nik would kill him.

Kol wasn't completely daft.

Apparently, neither was Henrik. Nik and Kol could both see their younger brother finally find them in a crowd. He clearly hadn't expected them to be looking for him, and so the element of surprise was obviously gone. Henrik backed away from the bar and slowly started to make his way outside. Nik started following him, but Henrik was too fast and too far away.

By the time Nik made it out of the bar, down the stairs, and through the building to the double doors leading out onto the busy New York street, Henrik was long gone. He'd probably gotten a train back to school.

Nik cursed Kol under his breath. How stupid did you have to be to invite your teenage brother to a club? Sometimes, Kol refused to see the consequences of his actions, and one day it would get someone hurt.

He looked down, running both hands over his face. He'd been out for too long tonight, and it was obviously time to go home.

"Oh,_ crap," _he heard someone in front of him say.

Before he could look up, someone had crashed into him. It was a woman, that much he could tell from the soft, blonde curls covering his face. Her hair smelled like vanilla and something spicy, and he had to actively prevent himself from sniffing. When he looked up, he met a pair of blue eyes, blinking in curiosity.

"Sorry, so sorry," the woman said, rolling off of him. She grabbed her clutch from where it had fallen and straightened, brushing off her dress. He sat up and pushed himself off the carpeting until he was towering over her.

She smiled at him again, blue eyes widening as his eyes went down her form. When he finally met her gaze, he felt like smiling, too.

"Caroline," she said, offering her hand. He shook it and nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

What was happening? He hadn't noticed a beautiful woman since Tatia had-

_Tatia_.

He felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. His wife was dead, and here he was, so close to chatting up the beautiful blonde in front of him.

"You're beautiful, love," he said with a bitter smile, dropping her hand. "But I'm not interested. Best of luck."

He left her there, gaping at his back as he swiftly stepped around her and out the door.

Caroline didn't wait around after that. She hurried up the stairs and stormed through the first set of doors she saw. She couldn't see Elena or Katherine, but Kol came out of nowhere and grabbed her hand.

"Caroline," he said, twirling her around. "Nice of you to join us this evening."

"I need a drink, Kol," she snapped, not in the mood for his flirtations. Kol was typically harmless, but right now, she couldn't get that stranger out of her mind.

'_You're beautiful, love, but I'm not interested.' _Who even _said _that to a woman?

If you weren't interested, why even try to flirt? Why check her out?

Kol said something to her, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. He pulled her closer to him and she put her hands on his shoulders, bracing herself against the crowd.

"What's wrong, Caroline?" he said into her ear. "You look like you want to hit something."

"I do," she yelled back. "Stupid _boys."_

He quickly understood that it was a problem that he didn't want to be dealing with, and it wasn't long after that that Kol deposited her with Katherine, Rebekah, and Elena. They'd been in a completely different room, their usual hangout, and she felt her irritation grow when they smiled and welcomed her.

"You couldn't have texted me?" she demanded, once Kol had left. "I didn't know where you guys were!"

"Um. We always come here," Elena said slowly. "Caroline, you know this! Why are you so mad right now?"

"I'm not mad," Caroline huffed.

"Please, anger is radiating off of you in waves," Katherine scoffed, gesturing at her friend with her half-empty bottle of beer.

"Okay," Caroline relented. "Well, I came in through the side entrance downstairs and there was this _hot _guy and he was_, _okay, he was really freakin' attractive. I was sending an email, so I didn't see where I was going, and I ccidentally bumped into him, you know, like, I fell on top of him," she paused to take a breath. "When I stood up, he checked me out! He was checking me out, slowly, _really_ slowly, with these _eyes, oh my God. _He smiled when I introduced myself, but before he could give me his name, he practically just shut off in front of me, and tells me, in this low, gravelly voice, and I quote, 'You're beautiful, but I'm not interested.'"

The three of them stared at her in silence, only to be broken by Bonnie's re-appearance.

"Hey, sorry, work emergency...Why are you all looking at me like that?" she said suspiciously, taking her seat at the corner of the bar. "Caroline, what happened?"

"I bumped into a hot guy and he told me I was beautiful but he wasn't interested," Caroline said quickly, not wanting to repeat the whole story. "Who just tells a girl she's beautiful but he isn't interested? I mean, I just told him my name. It wasn't like I was asking him to get married or something."

"Maybe he thought you were beautiful," Katherine suggested. "But he really isn't interested?"

"Exactly. He could just be a nice guy who wanted to give a girl a compliment," Elena agreed.

"Those don't exist anymore," Caroline retorted. "A guy's only nice to you if he wants something from you."

"That's bullshit!" Rebekah said, snorting. She slammed her glass down on the table and ran her hands through her hair. "You have never been used by a man. Matt Donovan didn't do a number on _your _self-esteem. Thanks to Stefan Salvatore, however, I will always be known as the girl who forgives too easily."

"Bekah! You and Stefan are too complicated to be defined by simple social conventions. You're both too busy and too scared to actually want to commit to someone, but you both also know that when the day comes, it's going to be each other."

"Oh, please stop with the psych stuff. Don't need it at the bar, Caroline. Check it at the door."

"Shut up, Katherine," Caroline said, resting her head on the table, buried in her hands.

Katherine didn't. Instead, she patted Caroline's head gently.

"You'll find someone," Katherine said. "Don't worry."

* * *

Nik woke up late the next morning, his head pounding. While he'd left the bar after three drinks, he'd come home and drunk himself into a stupor. Seeing Henrik at the bar last night had hit him hard. He couldn't fault his younger brother for wanting to go out and have fun. Henrik was eighteen, and it was his _job _to do stupid things and make bad decisions. So long as they weren't too bad, and he could get himself back on track eventually, Nik wasn't too worried.

What he was worried about was the fact that Kol hadn't thought to tell him that Henrik had even asked to come. It was as if Henrik's eighteenth birthday had signaled the end of Nik's reign. He no longer had the power to protect his youngest brother anymore, simply because none of his siblings would let him.

Henrik was now an adult. They had free access to their brother, and if that involved taking him to bars, so be it.

Nik feared for what Kol would do with this freedom.

The sudden, loud knock on the door did nothing to help his growing headache, and he practically ran across the room to open the door, just to make the noise stop.

Karen ran inside, giggling at her uncle, and Elijah stepped in, closing the door behind him.

"Uncle Nik, you look really, really bad."

"Thanks, sweetheart," he said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can I get a hug?"

"No," the four-year-old said, wrinkling her nose. "You smell bad, too."

"Yes he does," Elijah said, crouching down so he was at eye-level with his daughter. "Uncle Nik smells very, _very _bad. This is what happens when you don't eat your vegetables, Karen."

"Oh, stop, Elijah," Nik waved his hand at his brother. "This is ridiculous. Karen, sweetheart, d'you want to go inside and watch some TV?"

The child looked to her father for approval.

"Just because Uncle Nik has been nice enough to offer-"

"Daddy," Karen interrupted, stomping one foot on the ground. "I'll only watch cartoons and I'll come out as soon as you say we're leaving and I'm going to thank Uncle Nik, too, I _promise." _She looked at him with wide, bright eyes, so much like Katherine, and Elijah couldn't help but agree.

"Don't tell your mother," he ordered before straightening. Karen ran inside, giggling, and Elijah turned to face his younger brother, tugging on his suit jacket.

"We need to talk," Elijah said curtly, motioning to the couch.

"I don't really need permission to sit down in my own home, Elijah, but thank you for that," Nik snapped as he took a seat, throwing in a glare for good measure. Elijah ignored him, instead sitting in the leather seat to Nik's left.

"Katherine and I are worried about you," Elijah started, raising his hand to silence his brother when Nik opened his mouth. "I know you think we are crazy for doing so, but we are family, Niklaus, and we will always care. Whatever our own internal battles, we will be there for you. We may even be the reason you decide to drink yourself into oblivion," an obvious reference to the hangover, a reaction to Kol's behavior the night before, "But we will always be there to make sure you drink a lot of water-" Elijah paused, his eyes rolling up to look at the ceiling. "Okay, this metaphor may have gone on a little too long, but the _point is _that we want to help you."

Nik, who by this point was trying very hard not to laugh, took a deep breathe to calm himself. "I'm sorry, help with what?"

"Your health," Elijah replied, staring him down.

"My...health? There's nothing wrong with my health."

"Your mental health," Elijah clarified. "We, that is, _Katherine _believes you should see a...psychiatrist."

"Throwing your wife under the bus there, Elijah?" Nik asked with a raised eyebrow. "Don't the two of you have a policy about maintaining a united front to the rest of the world? A sort of 'don't let the children know when Mum and Dad are fighting' situation?"

"_We _believe that you should see a psychiatrist."

"That's not going to happen," Nik said flippantly, rising from his seat. "Now, if you could just wait a moment to see yourself out while I go and collect your daughter..."

"Niklaus," Elijah said sharply, barely maintaining his anger, standing up to meet his brother. "_She_ is why...Don't you see why I want you to do this?"

"For Karen?" Nik asked in surprise. He looked genuinely shocked, as if he couldn't fathom how Elijah was connecting the two dots. Elijah was quiet for a few moments, trying to gather his thoughts. If he was going to get Nik to agree to something like this, he only had one chance. There was no way that Nik would go and see Caroline unless he was guilt-tripped.

Elijah really had no other option.

"No, not for Karen," Elijah shook his head. "Or, well, not _just _for Karen. For Brynne, for all of your nieces, and for Henrik. You are not okay, Niklaus. Last night, you left the club early because you found out Henrik had come, underage, bringing his friends along with him. You were having fun, you had had a few drinks, you were laughing, you'd even allowed yourself to smile for once, and make friends, but the second our younger brother showed up, acting the slightest bit an _adult, _you fled. What did you do when you came home, Nik? You drank half a bottle of scotch? Why are you putting yourself in this position? It's self-destructive. You cannot keep basing your life around one person. First it was Tatia, now it is Henrik... You moved to a different country to stay close to him, and while that can be considered thoughtful by many, it is detrimental to your health. You are being self-destructive," he repeated.

"Yes," Nik snarled, barely repressed fury lighting up his eyes. "It is _self- _destructive. It is _my _problem, one that you do not need to concern yourself with. As for Henrik last night, my issue was not that he showed up at the club, my issue was that he didn't _tell me _and neither did Kol. It's almost as if you all have forgotten that I raised him just because he's turned eighteen. I _raised _him. I built my life around him. Yes, I moved to New York, but that wasn't just for Henrik. It was because I had outgrown London, 'Lijah. All I had there were memories of a dead, cheating wife. Work was dismal, the weather was dismal, everything was _dismal. _Finn and Sage have their own lives to deal with, so forgive me if I thought I could find solace with the rest of my _family._"

"You cannot keep using her death as an excuse, Niklaus," Elijah said firmly, not backing down. He knew that he was walking a thin line here, but at this point, there was nothing to lose. Niklaus _needed_ help, and family would not be abandoned.

"Don't bring her into this," Nik roared. "How _dare you_. You walk into my home and act like you care, but all you've established in this conversation is that you think I'm a horrible influence on any children related to me, that I didn't give a damn about Henrik, and that Tatia-"

"I said nothing about Tatia," Elijah interrupted quietly. "I was only speaking about your feelings-"

"Get out, Elijah," Nik said tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face. His hangover, which had been achingly irritating before, was now downright painful. His head was throbbing, he felt like throwing up, and his eyelids felt dry. Blinking was a chore, and he was in no mood to continue this extremely emotional conversation with someone who could only pretend to understand the myriad of emotions he was feeling. Elijah may have had good intentions, but the road to Hell was paved with them.

"No."

Nik stared in disbelief. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I am not leaving until you see sense."

"Insulting me is not the way to go, I can assure you."

Elijah took a deep breath, reached out to put a hand on Nik's shoulder, and then forced his brother back onto the couch. "You _will _listen to me."

"You can't make me do anything," Nik said churlishly, crossing his hands over his chest. His glare hadn't gone away, but it had softened. Elijah could see that while his younger brother was still furious, he was also seeing some sense.

Suddenly, another voice rang out, automatically diffusing the tension. "Daddy? Are you and Uncle Nik fighting?"

Elijah looked up to see his daughter in the doorway, ten feet in front of him. Nik turned to look over his shoulder to see his niece, standing there with a worried look on her face. She looked like she was about to cry, and both men couldn't help but rush over to wipe her tears.

"No, no, we're not fighting, Princess," Elijah said, crouching down. His daughter narrowed her eyes at him, her mouth forming a pout. He held out his hands for her, but instead of walking into them, she turned to face her uncle.

Nik was standing a few inches behind Elijah, trying very hard to give his brother space. Karen wasn't a much of a cryer, which was lucky considering he had very little experience with crying women. Then again, his niece was being raised by _Katherine, _of all people, and that had to account for something.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked softly when her eyes gaze landed on him.

"Are you okay, Uncle Nik?" she demanded. She started walking over to him as Elijah stared on in surprise, his eyebrows raising when Karen held up her arms, signalling for Nik to lift her.

Nik complied with her wishes, hoisting her into the air. "Oof," he said breathlessly. "You're getting too big for this."

"You're ignoring my question, Uncle Nik."

She _was _a perceptively precocious four-year-old.

"I am absolutely fine, sweetheart," he answered her, forcing a smile onto his face. His heart fell into his stomach when Karen wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, believing his answer to be the truth.

He knew it wasn't, though. It was the most painful lie he'd ever told.

Catching Elijah's eye, he nodded imperceptibly.

He would go see the damn therapist or shrink or whatever, and he would try and get better, and the next time Karen asked him that question, he would answer honestly.

He wasn't happy about this, but it was something he had to do. Tatia had taken many things from him during her life, but he would have to stop letting her do the same thing in death, as well.

He wasn't a weak man, after all.

He could do this.

Besides, if Elijah was going to pay, and he would _make damn sure_ that Elijah paid, there was no reason to refuse going.

Maybe after all of this, if he ever saw that blonde beauty from the club last night...

Well. He was getting ahead of himself.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you guys so much for all of the positive messages, the reviews, and the follows. I really do appreciate it more than you know. I hope you're all enjoying the story and nothing is too OOC.

Thanks again to Tanya, Briana, and Leonie, the former two for beta'ing, and the latter for making the wonderful graphic!

Once again, I update every Saturday, but I post Sneak Peeks on Wednesdays on tumblr at _asecretbrotherhoodhandshake_

_Please review? (:_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Thank you guys so much for your reviews, favorites, and alerts. This story has a very _unusual_ kind of plot, so it makes me happy to see that people are reading/enjoying!

Thank yous to: Tanya and Briana for being wonderful betas, and Leonie and Meghan for their wonderful graphics!

* * *

"Anna," she said softly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Anna sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm really sorry that I'm crying in front of you."

"Oh, honey no! It's okay. That's what I'm here for, Anna. You can tell me anything and everything. All I want to do is help you."

Anna looked up at Caroline, her eyes filling with tears again. Their session was almost over, and while Anna had spent the better part of it being silent and uncooperative, she'd finally started talking fifteen minutes ago. The words had started coming out quickly, and there was barely enough time for Caroline to understand what was happening before Anna had burst into tears.

Caroline was good at her job. She was prepared for all sorts of situations, and though she didn't like the moments when patients broke down in her office, she strived for the days when they'd come in smiling and tell her everything they loved about their lives.

The fifteen-year-old sitting in front of her, however, was clearly in the former situation. In these moments, Caroline found it best to just offer a tissue and wait for the tears to subside. After that, it would be easy to get to the root of the problem, and to talk everything out with Anna.

"Thank you, Dr. Forbes. I just haven't been affected by something like this in a really long time, you know? I'm over my anorexia. I'm not just saying this so you can sign my slip," she said, anticipating what Caroline was going to say next. "I don't feel like I have to be in control all the time, you know? And I feel good about myself. I'm not worrying about my hunger or how many calories I've had today. Yesterday, I even had a slice of cheesecake!"

"I'm glad, Anna," Caroline smiled. "I really am. But I need you to know that it's not just about what you eat. How you're feeling about yourself is a big part of your recovery, too. The food is a really big thing, and I'm so glad you've managed to take steps towards recovery in that area, too. What I need you to do now is ask yourself why something like this, a boy you don't even know, can affect you so much. You didn't tell me what it was that he said, exactly. Do you want to talk about that?"

"Actually, I think I'm kind of exhausted," Anna replied, biting her lip. She looked worried, as if afraid that her session time wasn't up. As a fifteen-year-old girl who was trying to overcome anorexia, therapy sessions were hard. There were things she wanted to talk about, but she didn't want to go too deep. Once she started talking, thought, Caroline started digging.

When Caroline started digging, her patients started to recede into themselves again. It took her a few weeks to get them to trust her, but once they did, they _liked _talking to her. She was friendly, she was trustworthy, and she had a non-judgemental ear. It probably helped that she was payed to keep their secrets to herself.

"Alright," Caroline checked her watch. It was 3:28 pm, which meant that Anna only had two minutes left. Technically, she could leave, but Caroline never liked to let anyone go early. "Well you have a couple minutes left, so how about you just tell me a few things you really like about yourself?

Anna slouched back in her seat, reluctant to go through the routine. "How many?" she asked, her tone conveying her irritation.

Caroline shrugged. "Five. But you have to _mean_ them."

Her patient sat up silently and surveyed her with curious eyes. "Okay," Anna said slowly, twirling her long, dark curls with her fingers. "I really love my hair. I like how I look when I smile. I love my taste in music, and I love how I ate a healthy portion for lunch."

"That's four," Caroline pointed out. "Give me one more. Anything."

"I like that...I like that I'm strong enough to try and overcome this. Is that okay?"

"That's perfect, Anna!" Caroline smiled. "Thank you. You're free to go, okay? I'll see you at our next session."

"I'll be here," Anna said, picking up her bag from where she'd dropped it when she'd come in. She waved as she walked out of the door. "Bye, Dr. Forbes!"

Caroline waved bye in response as the door shut behind Anna. She swiveled around in her chair, kicking off her shoes, and stared out her window. Her view wasn't great, but it was pretty nice considering she'd only been working here for three years. The practice was located on Fifth Avenue, and she'd worked her way up to the 20th floor. Maybe in a few years, she'd start her own practice and rent out her own office space, but right now, she was making money and building a reputation.

Plus, she made enough to go crazy at the sample sales all over town.

So what if she had a weakness for boots? She could afford them.

Her phone beeped.

She leaned back in the chair and reached out to grab it from where it was on the desk, but the only reward for all of that hard work was a text from Matt.

'_I know things have been awkward between us lately, but can we talk? Please?'_

She sighed. Oh, Matty. If only there was something to talk _about. _

They'd been together for a little more than four years, and while it had been a healthy relationship, one that could very likely culminate in marriage, she had started to think that there was something _more _out there for her. Maybe she was being greedy, but the fact of the matter was that she didn't want to tie herself down to someone that she didn't really want to be with. She loved Matt, but he didn't make her toes curl when he kissed her. Back when they'd first together, her heart used to flip and her breath would catch, even at the mere mention of his name.

The magic was gone now. Maybe she was fickle, but she didn't want to force it anymore. She didn't want to lead him on, either, so she quickly replied, telling him to meet her at 21 that night after work. Best to just clear the air and try to establish a new normal for them. She didn't want to lose Matt as a friend, but he was going to need time to deal with that.

Caroline checked the time again, and, realizing that she had five minutes before Katherine's brother-in-law came in, scrambled to put on her shoes and fix her hair. She couldn't do much, just finger-comb it, but it was better than nothing. She hated looking like a mess in public, and that neurotic side of her was more present than ever during business hours. When a patient was in, she needed to look professional.

This patient, however, was more important than most. Not only was he a Mikaelson, with the ability to send her referrals, but he was also a Mikaelson with the ability to tell all of her friends how well she actually performed on the job.

Psychiatry was all subjective, after all. If the client thought you were a fraud, there was nothing you could do to save your reputation after that.

She would just have to hope for the best.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Katherine?" Nik asked, stepping out of the cab. He placed his phone between his shoulder and his ear, sticking his hand in his pocket for his wallet. Grabbing a twenty, he slipped it through the driver's side window. Then, holding his phone, he put his wallet back into his jeans and made his way to the building.

"Yes, Nik. If there's anyone I trust to help you, it's my trusty friend Dr. Forbes."

"I don't even know this person," he growled into his phone. "What the fuck am I doing here, Kat?"

"I'm not going to have this conversation with you again, Niklaus," his sister-in-law snapped. "I have a meeting to get to, but it's almost four o'clock. Just get inside, punctuality is important to her."

"Eh," he mumbled, staring up at the building. He could feel the anticipation building in his stomach. What if this woman told him there was something seriously wrong with him? What if she said he was abnormal?

Who was she anyway, to judge him?

She didn't know anything about him, so how dare she?

"Nik, are you even in the building yet? She's on like, the 20th floor. Get a move on," Katherine said, bringing his train of thought to an end.

"Must I do this?"

"You agreed to it, remember?"

"Fine, fine," he grumbled. "I'm going."

Without so much as a goodbye, he tapped the 'End' button on his phone and slipped it into his pocket. Then, with a deep breath, he made his way into the building, pushing past the revolving front doors.

He took the elevator up to the 20th floor, and it opened into a nice, bright office. There was a secretary's desk directly in front of him, and when he told the college student behind it his name, he was directed to a rather large, imposing, mahogany door on the other side of the office.

Connor, the young psych major who was manning the desk at the front, had told him that he could just go in, since Dr. Forbes last patient had left half an hour ago. Still, Nik knocked, waited for the faint 'come in', and then pushed open the door.

What he found was not what he was expecting.

The blonde beauty from the club last week was sitting at a large, chrome and glass desk in front of him. She was writing something down onto a page in the file in front of her, and, without looking up, acknowledged his presence. "Niklaus Mikaelson?" she read out, from what he presumed to be _his _file. "I'm Dr. For-"

"Caroline," he interrupted quickly, flashing back to the memory of her hair in her face, her bright smile as she introduced herself, and the scent of vanilla and cinnamon mixed together.

The way he'd acted, incorrigibly, as if she was a person that didn't have feelings.

Caroline looked up, recognizing his voice, and her eyes widened as she realized that her newest client, Katherine's brother-in-law, was the same man that she'd embarrassed herself in front of the week before.

The surprise lasted for less than a second before she composed herself, taking in a breath. She schooled her features into an expression of professionalism, gesturing for him to take a seat. "Dr. Forbes, actually," she corrected lightly, giving him a kind smile.

Instantly he remembered why he was there. This whole nonsense about "getting better" and trying to move past Tatia and her betrayal.

The irony of it all, he thought to himself as he took a seat, was much too funny. He had automatically shut down the first woman who had caught his eye in _five years, _simply because his thoughts had strayed to Tatia, and now that same woman was supposed to be helping him _deal_ with those thoughts of Tatia.

The urge to hit something was overpowering, but Nik understood that a psychiatrist's office was the last place in the world to display anger management issues. He didn't want to waste any more time than he would have to anyway, just to talk about why he felt the need to lash out when he was angry, nor did he want to be prescribed any meds to help with whatever mental illness Caroline deemed he had. This wasn't the best possible situation to be in, and the fact that he'd found his _shrink _attractive irritated him more than it probably should have.

"How does this work," Nik demanded, seeing her start to write on the pages in front of her. "How do you already have a file on me?"

"Oh," she said, surprised at his harsh tone. "It's not really a file. It's just a manila folder filled with some blank pages and and a piece of paper that lists your name, address, and some other basic personal information about you."

"Like what, my bank account PINs and Social Security number?"

"No," she looked at him oddly. "I have none of that information. What I do know is that you are Niklaus Mikaelson," Caroline read off the information she had. "A thirty-three-year old British ex-patriate. I have an Park Avenue address listed for you, as well as two emergency contacts, namely Elijah Mikaelson and Katherine Pierce-Mikaelson. They are described as your brother and sister-in-law, respectively. No bank account is mentioned, and, as far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't even have a Social Security number. You've been in this country for less than a week."

"That's not the point! The point is that I don't know anything about you, and you seem to know a hell of a lot about me, considering I've only just walked through your door. We're not on equal footing here, and it's unfair, don't you think, love?"

"Okay, really?" Caroline huffed, her face falling in disappointment. She put her pen down and fixed him with a glare. "First of all, you are here because you want to be here, not because I have forced you. If someone else has forced you, I am _sorry. _I only agreed to see you because Katherine told me that you really needed it and that she would convince you to come yourself. I specifically told her that _you _had to agree to this, otherwise I wouldn't even meet with you, so please don't act like I'm doing this because I need the money or something. Second of all, this is a trial session. I'm not going to ask you why you look so rigid in that chair or why you're so uncomfortable. I'm not going to ask you about your wife or why you have trust issues, and I am sure as hell not going to ask you about your relationships with your family. And," she checked her watch, huffing. "_Don't _call me 'love'."

To say he was taken aback would be a severe understatement. "I'm sorry, but are you allowed to speak to me like that?"

"Actually," she said, leaning back in her chair. "Yes. Because you're not technically my patient for another minute and a half."

Well.

Katherine hadn't been lying when she'd said that punctuality was important.

"Oh, and lastly, I will never be bringing up our meeting at the club. I introduced myself, you shut me down, and that's all there is to it. As far as I'm concerned, you are my patient, should you decide to stay, and my job is to help you talk through anything you feel is important. I don't have any ulterior motives."

Caroline wasn't interested in listening to his excuses on the topic, he figured. She gave him a look that simultaneously terrified and intrigued him, and he suddenly wanted to bolt out of his chair and leave, never to return.

She checked her watch. "It's 4 o'clock. Are you staying or are you leaving?"

Nik answered her question with another question. "How am I supposed to trust you? I'm supposed to tell you, a perfect stranger, all the experiences in my life that have made up who I am? That's what that is for, I presume? Your fancy Harvard degree," he gestured to the framed paper hanging on the wall behind her desk, the elegant cursive standing out against the bright, bold black font of her name. "That gives you the right to ask me anything about myself, since I'm sitting in your office."

"You don't need to be here," she repeated firmly.

"Oh, but I do," he said, his tone acerbic. "My family is convinced that that I need your help."

Caroline fiddled with her pen, twirling it over her forefinger with her thumb. She had a growing headache, and the near-hostile man sitting in front of her wasn't helping the situation. This two-hour session was supposed to be a favor for a friend, but now that Nik was sitting in the chair across from her, she could see that Katherine was right. He really did need help.

He was sitting straight up in the chair, his hands at his sides. His fingers wouldn't stop tapping on the armrests, and his eyes never stayed too long in one place. Nik had met her gaze when he'd walked in, his eyes full of distrust and barely repressed anger, and in the ten minutes since then, he'd done nothing but try and shut her down.

It was starting to become a habit with the two of them, Caroline discovered. Her initial attraction for the man had disintegrated. Besides, she was never one to break a professional standard. Dating patients wasn't the wisest of choices; when you were privy to someone's innermost thoughts because they paid you to listen and analyze, starting a relationship with that person would be taking advantage of them.

"So," she said slowly, focusing on the last words out of his mouth. "Your family is-"

"You said we didn't have to talk about my family," Nik interrupted, flashing her a bitter smile. "Going back on your word, Dr. Forbes?"

"I never go back on my word, Nik," she snapped, clicking her pen.

"Call me Klaus," he said shortly.

"Any particular reason why?" she allowed.

"Only the people closest to me call me 'Nik'."

"Okay, I can accept that."

Nik was surpised. When he was told that he'd have to go talk to a therapist, he'd honestly believed that the doctor would ask him everything during their first meeting. He had come prepared to put up a fight and a wall, guarding his emotions, but there was no need. Caroline- _Dr. Forbes,_ he corrected mentally- had no intention of trying to tread into the deep, dark depths of his soul. Yet.

For now, he could probably make do with small talk and getting to know her at least well enough to decide how much he could trust her. While she seemed intelligent, considering the fact that Harvard didn't just hand out degrees to anyone, he didn't buy into the idea that four years of medical school gave someone the right to delve through his mind and start telling him how to live.

Maybe he just had a twisted view of the field of psychiatry.

He _did _believe this entire thing was a waste of time.

The sound of a pen scratching onto paper brought him back from his inner monologue, and when he looked up, he saw that Caroline was writing furiously into the file she had on him. Nik leaned forward in his chair, trying to see what she was writing, but all he could make out was that there was the aforementioned page with all of his personal information on one side, and a sheet of lined notebook paper full of her comments on the other.

He had been here for all of fifteen minutes. How much could she have to say about him?

_Uncomfortable when talking about family, _Caroline noted. _Sits too straight, almost rigid, fidgety when he notices that I'm looking at him = Control issues._

_Complex familial dynamics (?) = irritation when I bring up family, doesn't want to talk about anything personal. Possibly stems from trust issues. _

_HOW DEEP? _she wrote, underlining three times for emphasis. _Does not want to let me, or anyone in, _she remembered his behavior last week, his rejection of her when they hadn't even known one another. _Afraid of getting hurt again? _

_What hurt him in the first place? _Who _hurt him in the first place? _

Caroline glanced up every few seconds to take in another feature of his, but he didn't notice until she was almost done. The page was almost full with comments, but against her better judgment, she made space for one more

. _Feels guilty when trying to talk to women. === wife?_

What she really wanted to know, however, was _why_ was he so damn uncomfortable? What had _caused _it?

And how could she help?

"How do you already have so much written about me?"

"Your body language says a lot."

"So that's what you're going to do?" he asked, disbelievingly. "You're just going to write down how I'm acting while you ask me uncomfortable and prying questions?"

"I'm not judging you, it's just a way for me to understand the situation."

"Understand the situation," Nik scoffed, leaning back in his chair. The longer her eyes stayed on him, the deeper he slouched. It seemed childish, but the weight of her gaze made him want to hide, and the only possible solution was sinking so far into the chair that his long legs almost touched her desk.

Caroline stayed silent, waiting for his next wave of anger.

Finally, he broke the silence. She looked up from her notes, by now extensive.

"Aren't you supposed to be fixing me or something?" he asked.

"Why," she asked, leaning forward, elbows against her desk. "Do you think something is wrong with you?"

"No!" Klaus sputtered, clearly not expecting that response. "I don't think anything's wrong with me."

"Then why would you ask?" Caroli- _Dr. Forbes_- was frowning, her pen tapping anxiously against the desk. From her expression, he could tell that his question had intrigued her, but in the wrong sort of way. Now, she was dead-set on helping him 'become a better person', or whatever sophisticated euphemism that Katherine had used. He could see it in her eyes. He could also see some genuine compassion, as if she could not even understand why the thought that something being _wrong _with him could have passed his mind.

Either she was a firm believer in people or extremely stupid. The cynic in him wanted to believe the former, but there was no judgement to be found in her gaze. He liked that, and so, against his worse judgment, he chose to believe the best of her.

With this newfound belief, Nik took a step back from the situation. This entire session, for however long as it had lasted up until now, had been a mess. He had told his family that he would genuinely _try, _and Nik was nothing if he went back on his word. He certainly wasn't Elijah the Saint, but he was no less proud than his eldest brother, and he kept his word.

"I thought that was a psychiatrist's job," he said slowly, meeting her gaze. From this point onward, he would actually try and cooperate with Car- _Dr_. _Forbes_, and he would damn well be the best patient she ever had. To do that, however, he had to be honest. "I figured I'd come in here, you'd expect me to tell you everything that has ever happened in my life that could be considered remotely scarring, and then you'd prescribe some medication or something and send me on my way until the next session."

Dr. Forbes actually cracked a smile. "You're not the only one who has serious misconceptions about my field of medicine. But," she paused, looking genuinely thankful. "I appreciate your honesty."

It was a refreshing change. "I appreciate you not pushing me to talk about my family."

"I don't want to talk about your family," she said, shaking her head. "At least, not yet. They are clearly very important to you, but I feel like there's more to that story and you're not ready to tell me yet."

"I'm not," he agreed.

"I understand that. I make it a point to let all of my patients know that they don't have to tell me anything until they trust me. You should also know that anything you tell me, I am required, by law, to keep a secret. Unless," she paused, biting back a smirk. The atmosphere was lighter now, she could crack a joke. "Have you murdered someone?"

Nik shook his head no, unable to keep his laughter at bay. "I haven't, actually, but if my brother Kol ever ends up dead by suspicious circumstances, you should probably know that I had the pleasure of doing that."

She laughed softly, holding her hands up in the air. "Well then, my lips are sealed."

"Alright, thank you," he said agreeably. "So how does this work?"

Caroline smiled slightly, happy to be making some progress. Since this was the first session, things needed to be kept light. Already, she knew that the man in front of her had trust issues, probably stemming from abandonment. He wouldn't talk about his family, which was unsurprising, considering the increasingly complex relationships the Mikaelsons had.

This wasn't typical for a new patient. She wasn't supposed to already know things about him, but she _could _keep her mind free of bias and judgment and refrain from imposing her own expectations for him. Klaus wasn't always going to be sullen and uncooperative. Sometimes he would actually smile, the way he was doing now, and it was important for him to know that she could see all the different aspects of his personality without expecting him to act a certain way all the time. Showing surprise over his different moods was expecting something from him, and that wouldn't be beneficial to anyone. He'd obviously been shaped by certain experiences in his life, but she would try to ignore those until he brought them up himself.

So, at his inquiry, she bit back all of the questions that were at the tip of her tongue, including his relationship with his youngest brother and his late parents. Instead, she went for something neutral.

"Well, since this is your first session, we're just getting to know each other. So, you can tell me anything you feel comfortable talking about, like your day at work or the maybe guy who spilled coffee on you in the street, _or_," Caroline said, almost enthusiastically. "You could talk about what you think of New York, you know? How it feels to live here. How much you like your neighborhood...Your apartment."

It was selfish and slightly unprofessional, but dammit, she had put a lot of time and effort into decorating his place. Katherine had taken all the credit for it, which had been the agreement, but she was allowed some sort of satisfaction, wasn't she?

The paintings were placed to the best possible _lighting _for God's sake. Did Katherine even know how long that had taken?

"I can do that," Klaus said, taking a deep breath. He stopped tapping his fingers against his armrests, crossed his legs so that his right ankle was resting on his left knee, and slouched down in his chair. "Let's see..." he paused. "I like my apartment. I didn't think I actually would, considering how particular I am about certain things, but I have to say that it is starting to feel like home."

"And why is that?"

"Katherine," he paused, ready to clarify, before realizing that Dr. Forbes knew who Katherine was. "She basically got the entire place ready for me before I got here, which was incredibly sweet of her. It's a gesture I can appreciate, even though I don't know why she did it. D'you know, my favorite thing about the place is that, and this is going to sound stupid, but you're not allowed to judge, are you?"

She shook her head, _no. _

"Right then. My favorite thing is that she went and put all of my paintings at their best possible lighting. I mean, it's not a big thing, I guess, but it's takes time and energy and just...it was done so painstakingly. Probably should buy her something expensive for doing that."

_Oh, he had _got _to be kidding._

But Klaus wasn't finished, apparently. "It doesn't have any of the bad memories that London does, either," he continued, his expression softening. "Plus, it's nice to look out at Central Park every now and then."

She pushed down the flare of jealousy that had erupted within her suddenly. She'd lived in this city for so many years and she couldn't afford an apartment that could overlook Central Park, and while she would be able to in a few years, with the trajectory her career was on, Klaus had it _now. _He had literally never stepped foot in that beautiful, _beautiful _apartment before he'd bought it, and while she'd decorated it and pretended it was hers, he got to reap the benefits.

She didn't even get the credit for it, either, she sighed to herself. Oh well, there were more important things to deal with now.

Caroline listened intently as he started talking about his day, offering needless details for his anecdotes. His office wasn't completely set up yet, considering it was his second day on the job. He hated Mondays on principle, but yesterday had been worse than usual since he still hadn't recovered from his jetlag. None of his siblings had been around, and as a means to both occupy his time and try to fall asleep, he'd even started reading Game of Thrones again, but then the unthinkable happened.

"I actually _liked_ it," Klaus said in disbelief. Caroline couldn't hold in her snort of laughter, but she tried anyway, covering her mouth with both hands. He fixed her with a look that clearly said _this is not funny, _before continuing. "There's no time in my life for me to sit down and try and finish a thousand-page book. It's not possible."

"Not to mention the fact that there are four sequels."

He almost jumped out of his chair. "There are _more?"_

She nodded, talking through the spaces between her fingers. "Each as long as the first."

"Oh, fuck my life."

"I think it's a good use of your time."

"What? Trying to wade through five thousand pages of epic fantasy is a good use of my time?"

"Not in one go, no, but reading is a great activity for someone who wants to fill their time. You mentioned that you live alone; you're not used to not having another person around, and so some of the time that you would have spent at home earlier, being with your family, is now free to you. Reading is a good for filling that time."

He paused, contemplating how much to share. Finally, he offered, "I paint. That fills time."

"What do you paint?"

"No, no," Nik shook his head, laughing. "You're not going to psychoanalyze my art. I told you because I was trying to be, you know, forthcoming and all of that. But just because I tell you something doesn't mean that you can run away with it."

His art was his, and his only. He didn't talk about it to anyone, he didn't show it off, and he sure as hell didn't do it for other people. Art was a way to relax and pass the time away, something to get lost in and forget about the troubles he had and the pain he felt. Whether he painted an orange or the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, it was his business. No one had the right to see it or opine.

Dr. Forbes narrowed her gaze at him, an unidentifiable emotion flashing through her eyes. It was gone in a second, but he could tell that he'd irritated her. She had been incredibly patient with him, he'd admit, and he was almost sold on the idea of coming back.

"I'm not always going to be as lenient with you," Caroline intoned. "Just because we're not talking about anything serious right now doesn't mean that we won't ever be. I don't want to lull you into a false sense of security." She could tell that he was starting to believe that therapy was going to be easy. If it was easy, they were doing it wrong.

"I thought you were supposed to just let me talk and then ask me how I felt about things?" Klaus asked her, tilting his head slightly. "I'd much prefer that."

"I'm sure you would. Anyway," she checked her watch. "You have five minutes left. Anything else you want to talk about?"

"Not really, no," Nik said, standing up. He started stretching, and they could both hear the bones in his back as they set into place. He'd been sitting in that chair a long time, he realized. Two hours too long.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked.

"I'm leaving...?"

"No. You have four minutes left."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"I take my time very seriously."

He looked around the room, at the buttery soft black leather couch in the corner, the three bookshelves full of books, and then finally at Caroline herself, sitting behind her half-chrome, half-glass desk, like a queen upon her throne. "I'm not being held prisoner."

"If you are, it's only by yourself."

"Is that some sort of _hook? _A riddle or phrase that's going to get stuck in my mind and make me come back for another session?"

Ah, and finally, there it was. The elephant in the room.

"_Are _you coming back for another session?"

"Of course I am!" The words slipped out before he could think about what he was saying, and by the time he'd realized, Dr. Forbes had a bright smile on her face. She extended her hand towards him, unabashedly proud.

"Wonderful! You can just schedule a meeting with Connor out front and then I'll see you later this week, hopefully."

His gaze trailed from her outstretched hand up to her eyes, and he slowly raised his own hand to shake hers. "Thank you, Dr. Forbes," he said reluctantly. "It was nice to not have someone walking on eggshells around me for once."

"Oh, believe me, if anyone is going to be walking on eggshells in this room, it is _not _going to be me."

"Duly noted. May I leave now?"

She nodded, and he started walking to the door. "But, you're coming back right?"

Nik's hand was already on the door, but at her question, he stopped. He tapped the edge of the door with his palm three times, his fingers standing straight out. "Yes," he said, his voice low. "Yes, I am. Have a good night, Dr. Forbes."

And then he was gone, shutting the door behind him.

Caroline let out a groan, tilting her head backward. She massaged the back of her neck with one hand and took her shoes off with the other. Curling up in her seat, she swiveled around to face the window, grabbing her phone in the process. Quickly pulling up Katherine's name, she sent an iMessage.

'_He is a piece of __**work**__.'_

The reply came instantly. '_I know, Care. That's why I'm sending him to you. Did it go okay?'_

'_yes,' _she replied. '_he's agreed to come back.'_

The next thing she knew, Katherine was calling her.

"Okay, so how did it go?" her best friend asked in lieu of a greeting.

"...I can't tell you anything else, Katherine. He's my patient."

"I know _that, _Care, I watch TV. But I'm asking you in general, was he moody or what? I mean-"

"You are going to have to ask him that, Kat, I refuse to tell you anything. Whatever you want to know, you get him to tell you. I'm not going to be put in the middle of these weird family dynamics that you guys have going on. Professionalism is key. It's already a tough situation; I know things about him that he hasn't already told me, and I'm just worried that at some point, my friendship with you will make him feel like he can't trust me."

"Actually," Klaus' voice came filtering through her ear. "You've just proved yourself wrong."

She almost dropped her phone in surprise.

* * *

"Hi, Care," Matt said softly as he slid into the stool next to her. He raised two fingers to get a bartender's attention, and then shifted his own onto the blonde sitting next to him. "How have you been?"

"I missed you," Caroline replied, looking up at him. She snorted, "That sounds insane."

"No it doesn't. We haven't, you know, talked about any of it."

"Are we jumping into that right away, Matt? You haven't even gotten your drink _yeeet," _she said, timing impeccable, as a beer was placed in front of him. Matt raised the bottle towards the bartender and then brought it to his lips, eyes catching Caroline's.

"You were saying?"

She huffed. "I was saying that I missed you and it's nice to see you again."

And it was. She'd barely seen him since they'd broken up six months ago, and it wasn't until he was sitting right in front of her, that natural grin claiming his face, that she realized just how much she missed him. He had been a constant in her life, there for her when she'd moved from Mystic Falls and left home behind, ecstatic when she'd gotten her Harvard letter. Hell, he'd even tried to come and visit her as often as he could, and they hadn't even _been _together back then.

Seeing Matt's smile was enough to drain the tension from her body, and she jumped up and hugged him, hard.

"Whoa, Caroline," he said, letting go of the beer bottle. He stood up, wrapping both arms around her to pull her closer. And then he was looking down at her with an expression of such confusion and worry that she honestly wasn't to be blamed for what happened next. She started crying.

"It's okay, Care," Matt soothed, rubbing an arm up and down her back. "Are you okay? Do you want me to take you home?"

Caroline buried her face in his neck and nodded, the soft material of his suit jacket tickling her nose. She took a deep breathe and inhaled the scent of his cologne, reveling in the familiarity of his scent. He'd worn the same thing for years now, since she'd gifted it to him on his first birthday after they'd gotten together. The fact that he'd worn it today, when he knew he'd be meeting her, made her heart break.

"I'm so sorry, Matt," she said, looking up at him, tears clinging to dark lashes. "I don't even know why I'm crying. It's just been a really tough day."

"It's okay, Care," he said. "Look, just sit down and have a drink, and we'll talk, okay?"

In the thirty seconds it took for him to say all of that, Caroline made a decision.

She took his face between her hands and brought him down for a kiss. Immediately, his hands went around her waist, pulling her as close as possible. Her fingers buried themselves in his long, blonde hair, and she needed him closer, _closer. _She needed to feel the heat when he touched her, the overwhelming sensation of feeling him everywhere at once, as if she couldn't get enough of him.

But there was very little of that, she realized, as Matt pulled away. The expression on his face accurately described how she felt, and, even though she knew this was going to happen, it still hurt.

"So that's it, huh?"

"I thought, maybe..."

"Caroline, you don't have to explain. It's okay. We are...we're not _us _anymore. And I guess, as much as I'd like to be there for you, through anything, it's not going to be the same again."

She looked down, averting her gaze, but he placed two fingers under her chin, lifting it up so she could meet his eyes. "We're still friends, Care. I still love you, you know that, right?"

"I just wish..." she trailed off.

_I just wish it could be different._

Didn't they all?

* * *

**A/N**: K, so I hope I made up for the lack of Klaroline in the first three chapters. They have one scene here, and it's more than 4,000 words. I've never written a single continuous scene that long, and, needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. For those of you that are confused, Klaus called Katherine and used her to get on a conference call with Caroline to see if Caroline would talk about him and their session. It was a dick move, but he has severe trust issues. There will be repercussions.

Also, someone mentioned in a review about therapists and the ethics/professional code that prohibits outside interaction with patients. I _am_ keeping that in mind. These two aren't going to be banging on the couch anytime soon, but they will have some sort of personal relationship. I'm very much aware that any romantic or sexual relationships are out of bounds between therapists and their patients in real life, as well as friendship, but, again, this is fanfiction and unless they do interact outside of the office, I have no plot. So please, bear with me.

I'd just like to say thank you to Briana one more time, because not only is she a great beta, she's a great friend. She's also a Psych major, so she (and Google) are extremely important to me while writing this fic. She also calms me down and tells me to write when I freak out and say that there's no way I can write this fic because I'm emotionally stunted.

Anyway, sorry for the long Author's Note. Here's a review template for you if you don't know what to say!

Dear Meha,

I (loved/hated/moderately liked) this chapter.

I (loved/hated/moderately liked) their first session, (and/but) I feel like next time you should have them (fight more/makeout more/talk about deep emotional issues and fall in love).

Okay, I'm bad at templates. Please _do _review~


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** As always, thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites, and follows. This fandom has been really welcoming, and I've made some wonderful friends here.

Once again, I'd like to take the time to thank them: Briana, Tanya, Meghan, and Leonie!

Happy reading! I feel like you guys deserve some Klaroline after the news we got yesterday. Keep the faith, guys!

* * *

When Katherine called on Thursday morning, Caroline's first instinct was to ignore her phone. She did love her ringtone, a mellow tune she'd bought off iTunes, and there was nothing wrong with letting it just play out as she scrambled around making breakfast in her pajamas. She didn't have any patients until the afternoon, so there was no rush to get to the office.

The problem was that Katherine didn't _stop _calling, and Caroline knew her best friend well enough to know that five calls in a row meant more than just an apology.

It meant Katherine needed help.

Internally berating herself, Caroline sighed and picked up the phone, sliding open the lock screen to answer the call. "What," she snapped in lieu of a greeting. In the two days since that damned conference call, she'd gotten precisely two apologies, both from her best friend, in the form of text messages.

Klaus-fucking-Mikaelson had yet to pick up a phone and call her, but the arrogant bastard probably didn't even realize how much he'd actually hurt her. Probably, he didn't even care.

"I need help," Katherine said, getting straight to the point. In one breath, she added, "Karen is sick, which means that I can only drop Brynne off at daycare and Elijah's already at work and I have to be there in an hour and I am _dying, _Caroline, because my baby, as much as I love her, is being a brat right now and I have a meeting that I cannot miss, and I really need my best friend because I am stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"Don't you have a nanny?"

"Yes, but she picks the girls up straight from day care at two. I can't take Karen to daycare if she's running a fever, nor can I just leave my four-year-old to fend for herself until the nanny comes," Katherine said, her tone icy.

"That's not what I was suggesting, Kat, stop being such a drama queen. If anything, I should be mad at you," Caroline snapped. She looked down at herself and decided that her pajamas were probably acceptable attire for babysitting a sick child. Nevertheless, she still had to go to work later. This mission would require a change of clothes, she realized. "I'll be there in twenty-five," she told Katherine, hanging up without another word.

Quickly, she grabbed a pencil skirt and acceptable shirt; packed the makeup she needed, and made her way out to the living room to grab her purse and keys. It didn't take long after that to catch a cab downstairs and get to Katherine and Elijah's apartment, even with traffic. Caroline rang the doorbell with two minutes to spare.

Katherine pulled open the door, a child in her arms. "Oh, you're here," she said in relief, pulling Caroline into the giant penthouse. "Thank God. Can you take Brynne for a moment?" She handed her younger daughter off to her best friend before running into the living room.

Caroline looked at Brynne. "Hi, Aunt Caro," the two-year-old supplied helpfully, a sunny smile on her face.

Caroline tapped the girl on her nose. "Hi, Brynne."

Brynne wrapped her arms around Caroline's neck, pressing her cheek against Caroline's as her godmother carried her through her home. Caroline could hear Katherine in the living room, muttering to herself about medications and phone numbers, and by the time she got to the living room and leaned against the doorway, Katherine's hands were in her hair, messing up her sleek ponytail.

"Going a little crazy, today?" Caroline asked her best friend.

Katherine looked up, her hands dropping loosely to her sides, and sighed. "No, I'm just looking for my wallet."

Caroline spotted it on the floor under one of the coffee tables. She put Brynne down, and the toddler waddled over to one of the black leather couches, using the buttery soft material to pull herself up. Caroline, meanwhile, pushed past Katherine to bend and pick up the bright red kate spade lacey. Rising, she handed it to her best friend.

Katherine fixed her with a look, holding out her hand for her wallet. "You're still mad at me."

"Oh, of course I am," Caroline said easily. "But I'm not here for you, I'm here for my goddaughter." She was still angry, of course she was, but Katherine could probably use a day of ceasefire. While fights between the two of them were rare, they were vicious when they occurred, lasting for days on end. This one would be no different, even if Caroline was stepping in to help out. Katherine had effectively taken sides in a situation that wasn't supposed to involve her. She had betrayed Caroline's trust, and she had gotten in the way of the doctor-patient relationship.

Katherine paused, wringing her hands together as she debated whether or not to start an argument. What she had done was wrong in Caroline's opinion, but she had been trying to _help _Nik. Did she really have to apologize for something as stupid as a conference call?

There was no time to go into these details, however, and there was a two-year-old in the room, not to mention the feverish four-year-old who needed taking care off. She relented, standing up to her full height, and dropped her hands, deciding instead to give Caroline instructions for the day.

"Karen's got a slight fever, it was around ninety-nine degrees when I checked her temperature fifteen minutes ago, which is a lot less than it was yesterday, when we took her to the doctor. Her pills are on the kitchen counter, and you know the drill, right?"

"Call you or Elijah if I need anything," Caroline rolled her eyes, following Katherine and Brynne back to the front door. "Don't let that adorable child use her puppy dog eyes on me to watch more than an hour of television. Yes, Kat, I know the drill."

"Okay," Katherine stepped outside the front door, reaching to take her daughter back into her arms. "She's asleep right now, but there's some chicken soup that Elijah made earlier on the stove and-"

"I've done this before," Caroline said firmly, cutting Katherine off. Her hands were already on the door, and she was itching to just shut it already and get on with her day. The memory of Klaus' smug voice filtering into her ear wasn't gone yet, and the betrayal she felt at the hands of Katherine hadn't lessened either. It was all well and good that Klaus had trust issues, but the fact that the rest of his family _enabled _him? Wanting to support him was one thing, but tricking her? That was completely different. She was only here now because Karen was her goddaughter. She had loved that child since Elijah had let her hold Karen for the first time, ten minutes after Katherine gave birth. Karen's brown eyes had blinked up at her before promptly filling with tears, and from that moment, Caroline was in love. She had decided then and there that she would always be there for her goddaughter, no matter the amount of irritation she felt towards Katherine. "You can go."

"Caroline," Katherine protested. "Don't be mad, come on."

"You saying 'don't be mad' doesn't mean that I just magically won't be mad," she snapped back. Glancing at Brynne, she calmed down slightly. "Seriously, just go."

"Fine," Katherine said stiffly. "But this isn't over."

"Oh, honey, it's barely _begun."_

Katherine ignored her, slipping her wallet into her large handbag as she walked down the hallway. Brynne looked over her mother's shoulder, yelling down the hallway, "Bye, Aunt Caro!"

Caroline smiled, waving in response and shut the door when the two were out of sight.

She had nothing to do until Karen woke up, so she kicked off her shoes and fell back on the couch, turning the TV on in the process.

Life was good.

Until, of course, she had to tend to a sick four-year-old in the worst possible mood.

But she'd deal with that later.

* * *

"Niklaus, can you come here a moment?" Elijah called out, preventing his younger brother from filing out of the conference room after everyone else. Katherine was the only one left besides the aforementioned brother, and she threw her husband an inquisitive glance over her shoulder, pausing as she walked out the door. Elijah, seeing this, added, "It's nothing, Kat, honestly."

Nik's gaze went from Elijah to Katherine. He lifted his suit jacket from it's place on the back of his leather chair, and shrugged it onto his shoulders as he looked up at Elijah. He made his way over to his brother after sliding his seat into place. Elijah packed his laptop and other belongings, ignoring Nik's unspoken question until he'd buttoned up his suit jacket.

"Karen is sick," Elijah informed him.

"That's horrible," Nik replied, eyebrows knitting together. Having raised Henrik, he knew the horrors of having a sick Mikaelson child on one's hands. Their inner brats came out, and while Katherine had made sure that both of her children were well-behaved on most days, there was no telling what an itchy throat and a runny nose would do to Karen's behavior. Henrik hadn't been particularly pleasant, himself, when ill, but Nik did not envy Elijah and Katherine. No, see, _he_ had never had to deal with the hell that was a sick four-year-old Henrik, and though he wasn't a religious man, he thanked God for that.

"It is. Anyway, one of Katherine's friends is taking care of her," Elijah said, purposely avoiding any mention of Caroline. He continued, seeing no sign of suspicion on his brother's face. "I don't know when you're planning to take a lunch break, but if you could stop over sometime after two-thirty and spend some time, maybe it would cheer her up?"

"Sure. But why can't you go?"

_"_Ihave a conference call at 12:30, leaving me about twenty minutes to grab something from the commissary downstairs._" _

"Ah, I see," Nik answered. And he did. Elijah, as the CEO, was required to sit in on certain calls that didn't actually need his input. The Global Markets department was spearheading this particular international meeting, but the Japanese would be insulted if Elijah didn't make an appearance. They would claim that he felt that they weren't worth his time.

Elijah didn't actually believe that they were worth his time, but their money certainly was. He was an intelligent man; he did what he had to do.

"Why can't Katherine go?"

"She's got a business lunch to go to. We're looking to expand into small business. Our returns from Kol's club were more than satisfactory, and they seemed to have spurred her into action."

"Right, well then. I was actually going to meet Henrik for lunch on campus, but I can just pick him up and go by yours," Nik said, accepting Elijah's explanations.

"Great, when are you going by? I'll call and tell the nanny to expect you."

"Don't bother," Nik replied, making his way out of the conference room. "I'll go to Columbia now, pick up Henry, and get take out. We can eat lunch with Karen, and I'll be back by two."

"You're going now?" Elijah asked, his voice raised. Katherine was going to kill him.

"Yes," Nik answered with a raised brow. "Is there a problem?"

"No...but can't you go after two-thirty?"

"Elijah, I do have _work _to do, you realize this? I can't just waste my entire day going around the city to spend time with children. You asked me to go, and I will, on _my_ time."

Elijah frowned. Katherine had told him of the stunt that she and Nik had pulled on Tuesday, after Nik's first therapy session, and Elijah had known Caroline long enough to realize that there would be repercussions. From what Katherine had said, Nik hadn't seemed fazed in the least. Nik didn't know Caroline well enough to know what would hurt her, but that didn't mean Caroline _wasn't _hurt. Besides, Nik liked pushing people away. It was the whole reason that he was in therapy in the first place.

Should he even prolong the wait between the two meeting again? _Damn me for opening my mouth in the first place, _he thought.

"What are you thinking so deeply about, Elijah?" Nik asked, already standing at the doorway.

Elijah made one last-ditch effort to prevent further chaos. "Perhaps it is better if you just don't go, Niklaus," he said coolly.

Nik, however, didn't understand his sudden about-face. "No need to channel our sister with your indecisiveness, 'Lijah. I'll be off, then, unless there's something else you need of me?"

Elijah blinked, contemplating his next move. Finally, he realized that Katherine was going to rip him to shreds over this either way, and it was his fault for sticking his nose in the middle of this. Nik and Caroline were going to have to meet again, and Caroline was going to react violently no matter what.

Might as well move the process along.

Apparently he had been silent for too long, because Nik left the conference room without an answer, shutting the door behind him.

Oh well, Elijah sighed to himself. He'd tried. A little bit.

At least, he'd tried enough to justify _saying_ that he had tried. In the end, however, it didn't matter. Nik was going to do what he wanted, he'd say what he'd wanted, and he'd be unfazed by others' opinions of him. It was his way.

They hadn't actually talked about the fact that Nik was seeing Caroline, Elijah realized. In fact, he didn't even know if Nik had told anyone else in the family. Obviously he and Katherine knew, but the rest of his siblings didn't. The next time they all went out, it would be difficult to explain how Nik and Caroline already knew each other. How do you explain to your siblings that you're paying one of their closest friends for _therapy_?

It was Nik's problem, though, not his.

_He_, Elijah, had to go deal with Global Markets and miss his daily lunch with his wife and try not to think about his daughter, at home with a runny nose and an itchy throat. There were more important things to worry about than Nik. There were _always _more important things to worry about than Nik.

But he worried about Nik anyway.

* * *

"Can you meet me outside your building?"

"Why can't we just eat on campus, I'm too lazy to leave."

"Get your arse down here, Henry," Nik growled into his phone, too irritated already to be on the receiving end of Henrik's pathetic excuses. His brother had the ability to work extremely hard when he needed to, but God forbid you tried to take him out to lunch after his last math lecture of the week. "I'm in front of the Butler Library, meet me here. Your campus is too damn complicated to navigate."

Henrik had started his first semester at Columbia on Tuesday, but Nik hadn't seen his younger brother since Friday night. The boy had been avoiding him, probably afraid that he was going to be yelled at for showing up at Kol's club. Nik wasn't mad anymore, though, and did figure that after living together for nearly a decade, a week was too long enough to go without Henrik's company. They'd planned to go get lunch, and then Henrik had suggested giving Nik a tour around campus.

Of course, plans had changed, but Henrik didn't know that yet.

"Fine, fine, I'm coming."

Five minutes later, Henrik met his older brother in front of the large, redbrick library. Nik was pacing a few feet in front of the entrance, his eyes on the ground, most of his attention devoted to whoever was on the other end of the phone. Henrik waved a hand in front of his brother's face to get Nik's attention, and Nik put his finger up in response.

Henrik rolled his eyes but waited patiently, by now used to this behavior. He couldn't help but listen in on the conversation, wanting to see the business side of Nik. All charm and smiles, nothing fazed him.

He could only hope that one day he'd be as charming as his brother pretended to be.

"Yes, and we at Mikaelson-Pierce look forward to doing business with you, as well, Mr. Tar-oh, alright, Samuel. No, of course not, you're right. There's no need to be formal anymore. Yes, definitely. Alright, it's been a pleasure," Nik said before hanging up his phone. He turned, devoting all of his attention to his younger brother, but before he knew it, there was another distraction.

"Hey, H-Dawg," a girl called out, a few feet from behind Henrik.

Henrik blushed, ducking his head.

"What the hell is happening, Henry?" Nik asked quietly, incredulous. "Did she just call you _H-Dawg?"_

"Hide me," Henrik whispered furiously, trying to get behind Nik. Nik put his palm flat against Henrik's chest, pushing him away. By that time, though, the girl had already reached them.

"Hi, Danielle," Henrik greeted.

"Hi, Henrik," she said sheepishly, realizing that he had company. "I didn't realize you weren't alone, sorry." Her eyes raked up Nik's form, and he felt slightly disturbed when he realized that this eighteen-year old schoolgirl found him _attractive. _Her gaze was _violating. _

He didn't think she was sorry at all.

Henrik, apparently, was having the same kind of thoughts. He stepped back a little, almost as if to block Nik from Danielle's view. "This is my brother, Nik," Henrik said, an edge to his tone. "He practically raised me. I mean, honestly, he's like my father."

"How interesting," Danielle said, in a tone that clearly conveyed that she didn't actually find it interesting at all.

Nik didn't find it interesting, either. He was only thirty-three! Not nearly old enough to be the father of an _eighteen_-year-old. "Let's not be hasty in our mathematical estimations, now, Henry."

"Henry?" Danielle cooed, cottoning on. "Your family calls you Henry?"

Oh, for God's _sake_. Which brother was she attracted to?

He shook his head, wondering why he even cared.

"His family calls him a lot of things," Nik cut in swiftly, seeing Henrik opening his mouth. "But right now, his niece is calling him over, because she is sick and she would like the presence of her favorite uncle."

As CFO, he was allowed to take two hours, maximum, for his lunch break. He'd already wasted fifteen minutes to get here, and he wasn't about to waste another fifteen to sit and chat with some schoolgirl that his brother didn't even care for. He was starving, dammit, and he didn't want to stay on campus any longer than he had to. The red brick buildings surrounding him were just a harsh reminder of how much money he was actually paying out of his pocket for Henrik's education.

Bloody _America_, he thought with disgust.

"Karen's ill?" he guessed immediately. Henrik and Brynne hadn't bonded much, probably due to Kol's monopolization of her time. Karen, on the other hand, had a lot of love for Nik and Henrik.

Thank God for video calling.

"Yes, and she is currently at home with a babysitter, probably bored out of her mind. We should get going, since _I'm_ actually on a tight schedule."

They said their goodbyes to Danielle and made their way to the nearest subway station that would take them as close to Elijah's place as they could get, Henrik calling his favorite Chinese food place on the way, rattling of the address of the penthouse. They got there just as the delivery boy arrived, and Henrik showed his ID to take the food off the other teen's hands.

Once they got to the top floor, Nik rang the bell, waiting impatiently for someone to open the door. He could hear some childish Disney music barely concealing the sound of padded footsteps approaching. Before he knew it, the door had swung open.

He looked up and met the eyes of the last person he'd wanted to see.

"Caroline." Her name dropped from his lips without conscious effort.

"Klaus," she said after a moment, glaring at him. Her hands crossed over her chest and she raised an eyebrow, shooting him a look that said _what the fuck are you doing here?_

"Henrik," his youngest brother supplied helpfully from beside him, sensing the awkwardness between the two blondes. Neither of them turned to look at him, so Henrik held up the bags of food he had, trying again. "We come bearing edible gifts."

Caroline turned her attention to the lanky teenager, noting the similarities between him and Nik. They had the same eyes, she realized, but Henrik's smile was much warmer. "I've cooked," she replied, her tone softer than it had been with Nik. She stepped aside to let them both in. "And Elijah left some chicken noodle soup. But thank you."

They made their way into the apartment, and Henrik bypassed his brother and Caroline to go see Karen and put the food down on the coffee table. Unlike Nik, Katherine and Elijah had no qualms about eating wherever they wanted.

"Are you sure your cooking isn't just going to hinder Karen's recovery?" The words were out of his mouth before he could help it, but he couldn't regret saying them.

Caroline, who had been walking in front of him, whipped around. The expression on her face was somewhere between anger and injury, and a tiny, perverse part of him wanted to rile her up some more. He finally decided against it, remembering that his next session was in less than twenty-four hours. Nik had actually found her to be quite a refreshing change, but he had to admit that the fiery personality she showed when he'd irritated her was a lot more interesting to him than the composed professional who believed her worth was in her fancy Harvard degree.

"_Klaus?" Caroline asked in surprise. "Wait, what the hell, I thought I was talking to Katherine."_

"_You are talking to me," Katherine spoke up. "But...you were also talking to him."_

"_You put us on a _conference call?" _Caroline said, quickly catching on_._ Her temper rose._ "_Kat, are you fucking kidding me right now? Why would you do that?"_

"_Don't blame Katherine, love-"_

"Don't_ call me 'love'," Caroline interrupted. _

_Klaus entered the elevator, continuing as if Caroline hadn't spoken in the first place. "It was my idea. You kept going on about how I didn't have to say anything to you until I trusted you, and, well, I didn't trust that. So, I asked Katherine to help me out a little bit."_

"_Katherine..."_

"_I'm sorry, Caroline. I just needed to prove to him that you weren't going to talk to me about your sessions. I didn't think you'd be so mad about this. I thought I was doing you a favor."_

"_No, you were _enabling_ him. Okay, you know what, I just cannot have this conversation right now," she blurted out quickly. _

"_Care..."_

"_No," Caroline shook her head emphatically. "No, it was fine when you asked me to see him once, it was even fine that he was a douchebag when we first met, but this is going way too far. I am done with this conversation, Katherine," Caroline said. "So have a nice day, both of you. Or don't. I don't fucking care."_

She'd hung up after that, he remembered, but instead of feeling reprimanded, he had smiled. Caroline Forbes was fiery and passionate, and the more she hated him, the less she felt like she had to help him. It was twisted, he knew, but he'd seen the look in her eyes when he'd told her that he didn't want to talk about his family. That had been the look of a person determined to achieve a goal.

Nik knew what her goal was.

Him.

He pushed people away, and he liked doing it. Yes, he kept his family close, but they were always going to be there for him. After everything he'd been though, _they'd _been through when they were younger, there was no way that he'd ever let any seeds of mistrust grow regarding them.

Everyone else was a different story. Yes, Caroline had proven to be trustworthy, but that just meant that she was capable of breaking through his walls and making him vulnerable. The less he let her know about him, the less pain for him. She was his therapist, but she could only help him as much as he let her. He'd honestly rather have her die trying than actually figure out anything about him.

She tore him from his inner monologue, showing some of that fire he had just been thinking about. Jabbing a finger into his chest, she said, "You do not get to talk to me like that. Not now, not ever."

He gingerly removed her hand and let it rest loosely by her side before walking away from her in the direction that Henrik had disappeared off to. "Alright, I won't. But don't go stabbing me with your fingers, either, love."

Caroline followed him to the living room. Henrik had fallen onto the couch next to Karen, who had made her own little cocoon of blankets. She lifted one up so that her uncle could crawl in next to her, but Henrik shook his head. He smiled at her and put his arm around her, and the girl huddled into his side. From their spot at the edge of the room, she and Klaus could just barely make out what the kids were saying.

"You okay, Karen?"

"My throat hurts, Uncle Henry," the child rasped, pouting up at him. Henrik wrinkled his nose in response, and she giggled, the laughter turning into coughs. Automatically, the palm of Henrik's hand was rubbing up and down Karen's back, trying to ease the pain of the coughs wracking her small body. With his other hand, he grabbed the remote and paused the Disney Channel show that was playing. His ears felt immediate relief at the lack of teen pop music in the room, and soon enough, Karen stopped coughing, too. He looked up from her to see Nik gesturing to Caroline with his eyes, signaling that the two adults were going to go talk. Caroline smiled at him, making eye contact, and he smiled back, nodding once.

He watched as Nik followed Caroline into another room.

Those two had some serious chemistry, and he hadn't seen Nik act that way around a woman in a long, _long _time. How did they know each other?

Why was she already so mad?

Henrik's eyes widened. Why were they so wrapped up in each other when he and Nik had arrived? They'd completely ignored his presence, and Caroline had just barely looked at him when he'd introduced himself, too busy paying attention to Nik.

And while Henrik could tell that Caroline was a beautiful woman, she'd only been wearing pajamas and her hair was in a ponytail. Still, his brother hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her.

It had taken five years, but maybe Nik had actually found a forever girl. (So what if he had rooted for Aang and Katara the whole time?)

Henrik liked Caroline already.

He poked his niece, and Karen lifted her head from where she was curled up next to him to look at her uncle. "Yes?" she asked sleepily, her brown eyes blinking slowly, almost closing.

"How do you know Caroline, sweetheart?"

"Aunt Caro's my godmother," she replied, snuggling closer to him. He grabbed the blankets that had fallen onto the floor and wrapped them around the two of them, running a hand over Karen's forehead. She was warm to his touch, but she wasn't burning up too much, thankfully.

"Alright, go to sleep now, love," he told her. Karen obeyed with complaint. She wrapped an arm around his waist and shifted so that she could use his stomach as a pillow, pulling the blankets up to her neck. His mind started racing. If Caroline was Karen's godmother, then she would be pretty close to Katherine and Elijah. She'd probably been at the club that night, he realized. What if Nik had met her there?

What if that was why Nik had been mad in the first place? Nik had met a woman he genuinely liked and then he'd seen Henrik. After being reminded of all of the reasons that he'd forgone women over the years, he'd run after his younger brother, effectively ignoring the woman he'd met. Now, of course, she was mad at him. Caroline _was _beautiful, and quite the opposite of Tatia in the looks department. He didn't know much about her, but if the aroma coming from the kitchen meant anything, she was a good cook.

Tatia had been a horrible cook, he remembered. Nik deserved someone who could take care of him.

It all made sense, and he felt horrible for getting in the way of what could be a really great thing.

He'd have to fix it somehow.

After all, there was nothing that Nik hadn't done for him.

* * *

"_What_ are you doing here?" Caroline snapped at him the moment he shut the door. She had gone into the dining room and he had followed her, shutting the door behind him so that the kids couldn't hear. He had a feeling that this conversation was going to mention his therapy, and while he wasn't trying to hide his "treatment" from Henrik, he wanted to tell his brother himself.

"I was here to visit my niece, who has fallen sick, but I think I'm going to have to change my answer to _'fighting with you_', Caroline," he said, almost charmingly. The contrast between his words and his tone threw her, but she forced herself to think coherently.

"Dr. Forbes," she snapped, moving to the other side of the table. She was furious at him. Adding that to the fact that she was generally a touchy person, there was a good chance that standing near him would lead to her grabbing a fork or a knife and stabbing him.

She'd definitely lose her license for that.

"We're not in your office," he reasoned, his arms opened. "There's no reason for you to not punch me in the face right now. I can tell you want to."

"Oh, for God's sake, why must you _constantly_ feel the need to punish me for being nice to you?"

He tried to move closer to her, a roguish grin on his face. "I'll be honest, I think it's fun."

Nik didn't, really. He would have liked to be nice to her, but she didn't seem the type to just be happy with whatever information he gave her. He didn't know if it was her profession or her personality, but he couldn't shake the thought that if he gave her his finger, she'd take his hand.

He _had _to push her away, because if he let her get even a little bit closer than she had been two days ago, during their lighthearted conversation about his home, she'd probably go in for the kill.

And he really couldn't have that.

"You just... you're just pushing people away, and it's ridiculous. Who _hurt_ you so badly that you react like this?" Caroline asked, her eyebrows knitting together. She had that same look on her face that he was trying to avoid, the one that just screamed how much she wanted to help him, so he tried to move closer to her by circling the dining table in an effort to throw her off her guard. She was too fast for him, making her way to the middle of the table. Now they were standing directly across from each other.

"Ah ah ah," he shook his head, smile falling slightly. "You checked your psychiatric bullshit at the door of your office, love."

"It's not bullshit!" Caroline exclaimed, defensive. "It takes a lot of time, effort, and patience to help people through their problems, and trust is a big part of that."

"Yes, yes, and I broke your trust, which is obviously very important to you, and now you want to stab me with your best friend's silverware," Klaus replied conversationally.

"No!" she burst out. Caroline was so angry that he was honestly surprised she hadn't stomped her foot on the ground. But then, he supposed, she wasn't a child. She knew how to act maturely in difficult situations. Her composed behavior was the reason she was standing five feet away from him instead of trying to injure him with a dull knife.

The woman had some serious self-control, he thought to himself as she continued, trying to swallow her anger. The next words out of her mouth were much calmer. "I am hurt because you tricked me. You spent two hours in my office, claiming that you would try and let yourself trust me. You opened up, Klaus, even if all you did was talk about some books you read and the people that annoy you at the office. I was really _happy _I got to see that sight of you, because it gave me proof that you are actually a good guy-"

"I am a good guy!" he protested. "Why would you ever think otherwise?"

"Are you?" she asked gently, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. "I've met you three times in one week, and every single time you've been rude to me. Yeah, okay, you warm up to me later, kind of, but it still doesn't change the fact that you act like a major asshole the rest of the time."

"I'm pretty sure you can't talk to me like that."

"Yeah, well, it goes both ways. You don't get to be rude to me outside the office just because you think psychiatry is a bunch of bull," Caroline said firmly, her eyes fixed on his. She wasn't glaring at him, but he could tell that she meant business. "Either you keep acting like this and go to another shrink, or you get your act together and let me help you."

"Why so you _want _to?" he asked. "What is it about me that makes you think, 'yeah, him, I want to help him'? Why bother sticking around for me?"

"It's my _job. _You came to me because you decided that you needed help. On Tuesday, I saw a man who was reluctant to open up, but who tried anyway! That's why I want to help you, Klaus. You came to me, and I do everything I can to help my patients."

"I tricked you," he said. "You're supposed to be hurt about this."

"I _am _hurt. You hurt my feelings, and I am extremely mad at you about the fact that you _lied _to me and then you went ahead and abused my personal relationships to test me. That's what it was, right?" she asked, her tone acerbic. "You wanted to test me to see if I would tell Katherine anything?"

"You didn't, though, so I don't see the problem."

"You don't see the- _you don't see the problem? _That is really rich coming from a man who has trust issues so deep that the middle of the freaking Atlantic Ocean looks shallow. The problem is that you even believed, for a moment, that I would say anything. I am better than you, Klaus, and I am better than your stupid playground trust evaluations or whatever. I want to help you, I do, but I don't deserve to be treated this way. I am good at my job, and I work hard. You and Katherine had no right to undermine me."  
"We weren't trying to undermine you," he defended.

"We'll you did," she said firmly. "So here's the deal: you get on my level, or you _leave." _

Before Nik could respond, however, there was a knock at the door. He raised his hands in surrender when Caroline looked at him warily, before moving to the door to open it. Henrik stood on the other side, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, looking truly apologetic. "I can just hang out, it's not a big deal."

"No, no, it's fine," Caroline waved his apology away. "What happened?"

Henrik looked at his brother before answering, and Nik raised his eyebrows, tilting his head towards Caroline, as if to say _go ahead. _

"Karen fell asleep again, so I turned the TV off, too. I should probably be heading back to campus. Are you leaving, too?" Henrik asked Nik. "You haven't even eaten yet."

"Yes," Caroline said, replying for Klaus. Her eyes narrowed at him when he opened his mouth to protest, but his jaw clenched and he nodded curtly to Henrik, signaling his agreement.

"Oh, okay. Cool." Henrik stepped back from the doorway to let his brother out. He looked at Caroline expectantly, clearly thinking that she was going to walk them to the door. She shrugged and followed, watching as Klaus stopped in the living room to drop a kiss onto Karen's forehead.

"You can take the food," she offered, motioning to the two unopened takeout boxes on the front. One carton sat next to it, open and almost empty. Henrik, obviously, had eaten his fill. Klaus, who hadn't, wordlessly picked up what was left and made his way to the door, his brother following in confused silence. He was acting like a reprimanded child, Caroline noted, and the knowledge that she had gotten through to him gave her more than a little satisfaction.

"It was nice meeting you, Caroline," Henrik said to her as they stepped over the threshold. "I hope to see you again soon."

She surprised him by giving him a hug. "You're a good kid, Henrik. It was a pleasure meeting you, as well," she said honestly.

Then she was saying bye to them as she closed the door. He and Nik made their way downstairs, and Nik finally broke the silence once they hit the sidewalk.

"I'm seeing a psychiatrist," Nik said suddenly. She wanted him to get on her level? Oh, he'd get on her level. In fact, he was fairly certain that he could make his own level that would blow her mind.

And yes, he was aware that the metaphor no longer made any sense.

"You're...seeing a shrink? As in, someone to help you deal with..."

Henrik didn't need to say Tatia's name.

"Yes," Nik exhaled slowly, fidgeting as they walked. "The reason Caroline was so angry with me today was because _she_ is my shrink, and I abused her personal relationship with Katherine to enable my own trust issues."

"D'you feel any better?" Henrik asked. It was the only question worth voicing, since Nik's emotional state had been screaming for a therapist for God-knows-how-long. Truthfully, Henrik had been expecting it.

Besides, everyone in New York had a therapist. It wasn't uncommon.

"I've only been once," Nik explained. "And then I used Katherine to test Caroline. I wanted to see if she'd tell Kat anything about the session, but...she didn't."

"That's good though, right?"

"It is, but she didn't see it that way."

"She found out it was a test?"

"That she did."

"Tough luck, brother," Henrik clapped him on the back. "She'll come around eventually, though."

_She has to, _Henrik thought. _She's your forever girl. Right?_

* * *

**A/N:**Alright, time for another really long Author's Note! (No, just kidding. Kind of).

Okay, so to those of you that follow me on Tumblr (_givemeklaus_), I apologize for not having a Sneak Peek up on Wednesday. I wrote the majority of the chapter on Thursday, and then I wrote another 1,000 words last night. The reason I love Briana so much is because she stayed up late editing this so I could have it up on Saturday like I said. I won't be spending much time on the computer today.

In other news, I feel the need to point out that the entire scene with Klaus and Caroline here, that would never happen in the real world. Ever. At all. But it's fanfiction, and I'm sorry, this is my excuse. I hope that Caroline's reasons for being angry make sense to you, and that her friendship with Katherine is believable. My best friend and I rarely fight, but when we do, everyone backs away slowly and disappears until we've stopped.

Anyway, time for your review template! (I don't know why I do these, since I'm horrible at them. But hey, reviews! I am obnoxious about reviews.)

_Dear Meha, _

_This chapter (sucked/was okay/was really, really good)._

_I kind of wish Klaus and Caroline made out, but they didn't. Oh well, next time. _

_Henrik was (lame, ew, cool, super cool)._

_I (loved/hated) your reference to Avatar! (Kataang/Zutara) 5eva!_

_As (always/never) your writing (sucked/was okay/was really good). _

_I can't wait until next time! Update before Saturday, you horrible woman!_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Guys, I am so totally blown away by your response to the last chapter. You should know that the only reason I stick to my Saturday deadline is because of your amazing feedback. It keeps me writing, so thank you so much.

A giant hug/cupcake/thank you to my totally amazing beta, Briana, who is so amazing I can't even tell you. Seriously.

Also, thanks to Leonie and Meghan for making graphics for this fic. They are both amazing, and on my Tumblr, givemeklaus.

To make up for the lack of Klaus&Klaroline, I present to you the next chapter of Therapy. It is 8k words.

Happy reading!

* * *

When Jeannie's phone started blaring her text tone for the fiftieth time that night, Henrik finally decided to give up. He looked up at the girl in irritation, but she ignored his expression to check her phone. She had made herself comfortable on his roommate's bed, which was all well and good for her, but not for him. Her boyfriend, who was sitting at his desk, reading a textbook, didn't seem to feel Henrik's frustration either.

Henrik threw his pencil down onto his math homework and pushed his chair back, standing up. Clearly, he wasn't going to get any homework done tonight.

Jeannie looked up then, her concentration broken. "Henrik, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said absently, brushing her off. He looked around, trying to see if he could make up an excuse to leave the room. His eyes landed on his laundry basket.

The white plastic container was relatively large, big enough to fit a small child. Brynne would definitely fit into it, he estimated, and Karen could probably crouch down into it, too. Still, despite its size, it was overflowing. He had been putting off laundry all week, just dropping his clothes into the hamper whenever he changed. It probably didn't help that he forced himself to change clothes whenever he spilled something on himself, which led to way too many dirty clothes to think about. It was a small price to pay for looking sharp all the time, but he would gladly pay it.

Never mind that he didn't even know how to do laundry. It probably wouldn't be that hard to just put the clothes in the machine and press start, he figured. Besides, he didn't care. He really needed to get out of this room, since it didn't look like he'd be getting any work done soon. He didn't want to waste the night away doing nothing, just for the sake of staying inside.

He'd been busy studying for math half an hour ago when the door had opened and his roommate had come in, girlfriend in tow. The two of them were giggling and trying very hard to keep their hands to themselves, which probably meant that they wanted him to leave.

But he didn't, because fuck that shit. It was his dorm room, too, and if they didn't have the guts to politely ask him to leave and also give him twenty bucks for dinner, then he was just going to stay and study until they got uncomfortable and left.

Except that they didn't. Or, well, _Jeannie _didn't. She'd taken up residence in Andrew's bed and had reached for her boyfriend's laptop, instantly immersing herself in Facebook or whatever. Then she had started watching annoying YouTube videos of cats rolling around on the floor, and since she couldn't find headphones, they _all _had to listen to annoying meows and recorded laughter. He really wanted to say something to her, but she wasn't _his_ girlfriend. Besides, he didn't know Andrew well enough yet. He'd been hoping that Andrew would just kick the girl out at some point, but that wasn't very likely.

He didn't know very much, except that the two had been together for three years and they had gone to some pretentious private school in the city that he'd forgotten the name of. As locals, they had chosen Columbia for two reasons. It was in the city, and they'd both gotten in.

He'd rejected universities for less, so who was he to judge?

As for their love story, Henrik didn't care. He didn't particularly like either of them.

"You going somewhere, dude?" Andrew asked, looking up from his biology textbook.

Jeannie looked up, too, her gaze moving from her boyfriend to Henrik to the door. "Are we bothering you?"

"No," Henrik lied easily, scratching the back of his hair. He needed a haircut, he realized. "I think I'm just going to go do some laundry or something." His gaze fell on his large, overflowing laundry basket again, and his nose wrinkled subconsciously.

"Do you know how to actually _do _laundry?" Andrew asked cautiously. He was already able to tell that Henrik was the kind of guy who liked to know everything. He liked being independent and responsible, and if he didn't know how to do something, he'd learn. Henrik would prefer to waste five hours trying to figure something out by himself instead of just asking someone for help.

"Yes," Henrik said defensively, crossing the room to pick up his basket. "Of course I know how to do laundry."  
It was a lie, but Andrew didn't need to know that.  
Andrew spoke up again, watching as Henrik made his way to the door. He got up and went to open the door when he saw Henrik struggling, and said, "It's okay if you don't know how to do laundry. I mean, _I _don't even know how to do laundry."

"Yeah, he's gonna take it home and get his mom to do it," Jeannie piped up, trying hard not to laugh. When she saw that he wasn't paying her any attention, she tried again. "Henrik?"

But Henrik ignored them and trekked down to the laundry room, pointedly avoiding the stares of the other students as he made his way down the stairs. The basket was heavy, and he finally put it down in relief once he got to the laundry room. Fortunately for him, the place was completely empty. Other kids actually had social lives; places to be and people to see on a Friday night. Apart from his family, there wasn't really anyone that he'd actually connected with in this city.

He went forward and examined one of the washing machines, and it took him a few seconds to realize that he not only was he missing detergent, but also the knowledge that it required to actually _do _laundry. He had to separate clothes? And what the fuck was fabric softener?

Nik was a great father figure and older brother, who had taught him literally everything he knew. But in all of the great knowledge that Nik had imparted, including all of the skills he had used to get into university, Nik hadn't taught him how to wash his own clothes. Growing up with his parents, he'd had hired help. They'd had a cook, a housekeeper, even a chauffeur. After Nik had become his guardian, they'd _still _had a cook, a housekeeper, and a chauffeur. Henrik had cleaned his room _thoroughly_ every two weeks, at Nik's insistence, and he'd learned how to cook at Sage's insistence. Other than making a bed and cooking for himself, though, he was crap at anything domestic.

Give him a triple integral any day.

Sighing, he pulled out his phone and went to his Favorites list, automatically tapping Katherine's name. The call went through instantly, and she picked up after four rings.

"Hey, Henrik," she said, sounding out of breath. "What's up." In the background, there was absolute silence, which was beyond unusual for that branch of the family.

"Are you busy?" he asked in confusion. If Katherine finally had some time to herself, he didn't want to ruin that. "I can call back later. It's fine, you sound like you have nothing to do, I don't want to ruin that."

"Oh, Henry, no," she said. "I don't have anything to do but talk to you. Of course I'm not too busy for you! We're _never_ too busy for you."

Well, that felt good to hear. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Thanks, Kat."

"Anytime. What's up?"

Henrik looked around the empty laundry room and at his sad pile of clothes. "I need your help."

Katherine paused, processing what she had just heard. In the eight years that she had known her younger brother-in-law, she had never once had him ask _her _for help. He would always go to Nik for whatever he needed help with, and if Nik wasn't available, then he'd go to Elijah. Otherwise, he hated depending on anyone. She figured it had a lot to do with the fact that he had lost his parents at such a young age.

Sure, his siblings had lost just as much as he had, but they had their own lives to live. They could take care of themselves. Henrik, on the other hand, had been a nine-year-old boy who had to be taken care of. At that point, he probably hadn't realized what custody battles were. He hadn't realized that each of his three eldest brothers had wanted him, but Nik had fought the hardest. Nik always fought the hardest. That was something that she would say until her dying breath, that Nik had fought hardest for Henrik. From what Elijah had told her of the custody arguments, they hadn't been fun.

So really, it was natural for Henrik to be hesitant around others. He was also second-guessing how much they actually wanted him around, and she really hoped that he didn't feel like that at school, too. Family was one thing. As his sister-in-law, she had no qualms about assuaging his fears for as long as he had them. She just figured that teenagers wouldn't be so kind. In the Ivy League, self-confidence was key. But she was worrying for no reason, she reminded herself. The kid had confidence in spades when it counted.

"What do you need my help in?"

"...Okay, don't judge, but I need to do laundry and apparently you have to separate your clothes and you need detergent and fabric softener and are there, like, rules to using a public laundry establishment, I mean...What do I _do?"  
_

Katherine couldn't help herself. She started laughing. "Why don't you come over? The girls are sick, so I put them to bed early and Elijah's working late, but there is food left over. You can eat and then I'll teach you how to do laundry, okay?"

"That depends, what would you be feeding me?"

"Lemon chicken and rice."

Henrik accepted the offer without a second thought. "I'll be there in fifteen," he said immediately.

"Alright, see you then."

* * *

Nik strolled onto the 20th floor exactly seven minutes before his scheduled session.

His talk with Henrik yesterday had proved to be only slightly fruitful, since the teen seemed to have been _expecting _news like this. Granted, Henrik did know him better than almost anyone, except Elijah, and if anyone had the right to think that Nik needed to start talking to someone, it was Henrik. More than that, though, Henrik seemed to be truly pleased that Nik was seeing _Caroline. _He seemed to think that his brother was wholeheartedly invested in his therapy, even after hearing the story of The Call. Henrik spoke as if he fully believed that Caroline would actually be able to help Nik, and that she was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him. In Henrik's mind, there was no doubt that therapy would help, and that Nik would let Caroline in.

Caroline, on the other hand, seemed to think that he wasn't going to show up.

'_Either you leave, or you get on my level_,' he remembered, her voice echoing through his head again, like it had for the past day.

He wasn't one to resist a challenge. And that was exactly what this was. She thought he wasn't going to show up anymore, but he would. Unlike the last session, he would actually try and connect with her, if only to prove that there was nothing wrong with him. The whole situation was a little ridiculous, he had to admit, but he couldn't stand the idea that Caroline already knew him better than he knew himself, especially if she'd only met him the week before.

He would _not _give her the upper hand.

Nik took a deep breath and tried to hold back his smirk as he opened the door to her office and stepped inside. Like the last session, she didn't even look up to acknowledge his presence. "You're late."

He was stupefied. "What?"

She looked up from her computer, staring him straight in the eye. "You're five minutes late."

Nik checked his watch. It was 5:55 pm, and his session wasn't scheduled until six. "I'm five minutes early! What are you talking about, I'm not technically supposed to be here until six."

"Eh, you're only _five_ minutes early," Caroline replied, shrugging. "I figured that you're not one to resist a challenge, and you'd show up really early. You've kind of disappointed me, actually, since I thought you'd be here at 5:50. Maybe even 5:30 if you really wanted to prove something."

"Get out of my head," he growled.

"Get out of my office," she replied coolly.

"You were supposed to think that I wasn't going to show up!"

Caroline leveled her gaze at him, eyes filled with mirth. She had _known _how this would play out, but the irritated look on his face was a thousand times more amusing in person. Of course he would show up! Klaus Mikaelson was the type of person who would do everything in his power to try and prove to her that she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. The problem was that she was a really fast learner. He had pulled one over her head with the phone call (which she was still irritated about, thank you very much), and she had learned from that trick. He _liked _being a step ahead, he liked having something to prove, and he most definitely wanted to see the look on her face while proving it. So she had slapped him with an ultimatum, knowing exactly how he was going to react, and then she had schooled her features into an expression of boredom just so she could throw him off his game.

She _was_ surprised that he had shown up early, but he didn't need to know that.

"When are you going to just stop over-analyzing this and just let me do my job?"

"Because you can break me," he said loudly. From the surprised look that he had on his face, Caroline figured that he hadn't even realized he was going to say that. Then he continued, and she didn't know who Klaus was surprising more. Her or himself. "If I start to actually talk to you, trust you, _depend_ on you, you will have the power to break me, Caroline. You might think I'm an arrogant jackass, but I act this way for a reason. I'd rather hurt people than have them hurt me, and I accept that about myself. I'm not a nice guy to everyone. And, with you, I can't decide whether I want to be."

The change from 'Caroline' to 'Dr. Forbes' was instantaneous, he realized. No longer was the fiery-tongued woman from yesterday in front of him. Now, what he saw was a professional, a doctor, someone who was in an all-business, no-play mode. Her amusement disappeared, and in its place had arisen a look of compassion and sympathy.

"You can't decide?" Carol-_Dr. Forbes _asked. Nik had to remind himself to call her his doctor. His_ doctor_, as if he had some sort of illness. "Is that why you push me away after you let me in a little bit? You think I'm going to use whatever I know about you to hurt you?"

"It wouldn't be the first time that someone did that, " he said cryptically, pacing the room. He still hadn't taken a seat, too agitated and fidgety to actually sit in one place and stop moving, but he'd thrown his suit jacket over the back of the chair in front of him. He needed to be _moving _right now, and work off this extra energy.

Caroline took the time to actually get a good look at him. Klaus had clearly come straight from the office, since he was still in his business clothes: black dress pants, a crisp, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and an already-loosened tie. One hand was stuffed into the pocket of his pants, while the other was running through his curly, dark-blonde hair as he paced.

The man looked _good. _

As soon as she had that thought, she shoved it away. He was her patient, Caroline remembered. Underneath the appealing aesthetics, there was, for lack of a better word, a _broken _man who needed her help. Besides, any attraction she'd had for him had disappeared the moment he'd walked into her office on Tuesday, when their professional relationship had begun.

Still, there was no harm in looking.

Nik was in two minds, which he realized was a growing trend when he was around Caroline. Should he actually try, the way he had told Henrik and Elijah that he would? The way he'd told _Caroline_ that he would? Or should he just keep trying to push her away, making sure she didn't get close enough to hurt him. He wanted to trust her, but he didn't know if he could.

This was ridiculous, the way he kept changing his mind. He was giving _himself_ whiplash with all of his indecision and spontaneity, never mind what Caroline must be feeling.

He had given up actually calling her Dr. Forbes, since she had been 'Caroline' in his mind after she'd introduced herself to him a week ago. If he could call her by her given name, if he was already comfortable enough to forgo that professional boundary, then there was no point in trying to hide anything else.

Besides, did he really want to spend the rest of his life thinking about what could have happened if Tatia had lived? What would have happened if she hadn't been cheating on him?

Maybe if he'd worked less, maybe if he'd paid her more attention...

He should have brought flowers, taken her out to dinner, surprised her on her birthday.

He should have done _something. _

"What are you thinking about?" Caroline's voice broke into his thoughts. Nik shook his head and rubbed his hand over his face, finally taking a seat in front of her. Time for honesty, he thought.

"Tatia," Nik said confidently, leaning back in the chair. He blinked rapidly, the only physical sign of his internal struggling, and then continued, his voice low. "Sometimes I think about what I could have done to prevent her death."

If Caroline was surprised that he was talking about this with her so soon, she didn't show it. She simply rolled with the punches. She put her pen down and leaned forward, hands clasped together on her desk. "Why do you think you could have done something?"

"Aren't you going to ask me how she died?"

"Not if you don't want to tell me."

"Okay," he paused. "I don't want to tell you."

"You don't have to."

"No," he said vehemently. "You don't understand. It's not that I don't want to tell _you_. I do. I want to tell you everything, because I figure that somehow, in one week, I've become comfortable around you. You fight back, you show your feelings, and you don't step on eggshells around me just because my wife died, cheating on me."

"Okay."

"I don't want to talk to anyone about how she died. I don't want to talk about the fact that she cheated on me."

That was news to her. This time, she couldn't help the surprise that was evident on her face. How did you cover something like that up? Minutes ago she had been pondering over how straight-up _attractive _this guy was, but the woman who had gotten to have him for her entire life had chosen to betray him. There was no way to prepare for that kind of news.

"You feel betrayed?"

Klaus snorted, raising an eyebrow at her. "Betrayed is putting it lightly. I felt like she tore my heart out, straight from my chest, and then stomped all over it in front of everyone."

"Do you still love her?"

Nik paused. _Did _he still love his wife? It was a question he had to seriously think about. For so long, Tatia had been a source of pain, someone who had betrayed him in the worst possible way. She had taken his heart in her hands and turned it to dust without even touching him. Tatia had cheated on him, she had betrayed him after everything she knew about him, his family, and what they had been through. How could he ever forgive that? How could he ever forget the pain that came from knowing that? After the accident, he had only seen her in bad memories. For him, she existed only in that increment of time between when the horribly weak excuses started, up until she died in another man's arms.

How could he love the memory of her when he was too busy cursing her very presence in his life?

But maybe he did still love her, since he still felt so much for her. Nik could hate her as much as he wanted, he could dream about her being there, dream about talking to her, lashing out at her, he could ask her "_Why_" in his thoughts as much as he wanted, but he only did all of that because _of course he still loved her. _She was his wife, she was his life, she was _Tatia. _

Everything he needed in the world was all wrapped up in one person.

But it wasn't really love anymore, was it?

"I don't know," Nik said, letting out a deep breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can we change the subject? I fear that's all I can talk about my wife for now."

Klaus used the present tense when talking about Tatia, Caroline noted. Was that because he still felt like he was married to her, and he couldn't move on, or was it because they had just never divorced?

Rather than push the subject and ask him about it, she noted it down in his file to bring up at another time, and instead thought about another subject that they could talk about. Half an hour of this session had already elapsed, and he'd talked more about his personal life and feelings than she'd honestly been expecting him to. She figured that a happier, lighter conversation topic was best for now, and she knew just the thing that would get a smile on his face.

"Do you mind if we talk about Henrik?" she asked cautiously. The two brothers had seemed close, based off of what she had seen yesterday, but in the Mikaelson family, there was no telling. They kept all of their family business internal, so her hunch about Henrik being a cause of Nik's happiness could be extremely wrong.

Her fears seemed unfounded, however, when he started to actually smile. "No, actually, I'd love to talk about my brother."

"You love him a lot, don't you?" Caroline asked, a smile unknowingly spreading across her face as well. "You guys are really close."

"I should think so. I raised him," Nik revealed. "And no, we are not going to talk about how that came to be. Not tonight. Write that down in my file for now, and you can bother me about it later. I know you're dying to know."

"I am not dying to know!" she protested, only slightly insulted. Mostly, though, she was amused. He was being teasing and light, and she would take what she would get.

"Caroline," he said, tilting his head to one side. He fixed her with a _'bitch,_ _please' _look_. "_If you can profess to know me so well in so short a time, why do you think that the same doesn't apply to me knowing you?"

"Well, Klaus, as mysterious and broody as you make yourself seem, you're not that intriguing. I mean, yeah, you have a lot of stuff going on under this stoic exterior," she gestured to his form. 'Stoic' was not the word she wanted to use, but all the other words that came to mind were a little unprofessional. Just a little. "But the truth is that, to me, you are an open book."

Klaus scoffed at her disbelievingly. "I am not an open book. I'm written in a dead language, Caroline."

"Maybe I know it, too." Caroline didn't know why she said that. Why did she say that? She held her breath for his reaction.

His eyes met hers, an unidentifiable emotion in his gaze. "This metaphor has gone on long enough, don't you think, Caroline?"

"Right, yes," she shook her head, irritated at herself for losing focus. She grabbed her pen and flipped to a fresh blank page in his file before looking up at him and continuing, "So, if I tell you that Henrik is a good kid, that's a direct compliment to you, isn't it?"

"I...Well, I suppose-" Klaus stuttered, clearly not expecting this praise. "Thank you."

"I'm telling you the truth. I only talked to him for, like, ten minutes yesterday, but he's really well-behaved and _courteous_. I can't remember the last time a teenager told me that it was a pleasure meeting me."

"Henrik is a charmer," Nik agreed. "But that's a family trait."

It _was _a family trait. Finn, while slightly dull, could charm clients into doing almost anything when he put his mind to it, and Kol made it a point to practically ooze charm wherever he went, never knowing where he would need to impress a woman he'd just met. Elijah, on the other hand, just seemed to be himself, classy and understated, and people seem to flock to him. Katherine had once mentioned to Nik that Elijah's perfectly composed exterior was what attracted her to him in the first place. She wanted to figure out how to get under his skin and make him come undone, she'd revealed.

Nik had shoved that piece of information into the deepest pits of his mind, not wanting to know what his sister-in-law meant by that.

"Charm is a family trait?"

"We Mikaelsons know how to get what we want, and we don't stop until we get it."

Caroline thought of her best friend, who fit the bill even if she'd married into the family. "I take it it's not a genetic trait?"

Klaus actually smirked at her. "No, the women who marry into the family can definitely hold their own."

"Henrik doesn't seem quite as cutthroat as that, though."

"Are you joking? When his A-levels came up, that boy studied so incredibly hard that wouldn't see him for days at a time. The cook told me that she used to knock on his door five or six times just to get him to come outside to eat. He wouldn't talk to his friends much, or help them study. He was solely concerned with what _he_ wanted. He's incredibly dedicated, and when he knows he wants something, he goes after it, damn everyone else to hell."

"And now he's at Columbia?"

"He is, and he deserves to be. The only reason I worked that hard during sixth-form was that studying gave me an out from having to listen to my father rant about how good-for-nothing I was." There were really no boundaries for him today, were there? Nik was constantly surprising himself. He just hoped that Caroline didn't catch on to his slip of the tongue.

Mikael was not a topic he wanted to get into right now.

Thankfully, she ignored it, but not before giving him a pointed look and noting down what he saw to be the words 'daddy issues' onto her paper.

"I do not have '_daddy issues'_," he protested. "I had a slightly turbulent relationship with my father growing up, but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about my brother."

"You raised him well," Caroline commented again, dropping her pen. "And like I said before, I didn't meet him for too long. What I saw, though, was enough. I mean, the kid is sweet to his niece, he's clearly family oriented, and he's very close to you. When he came in to interrupt us, he was almost _sorry_, as if he was worried that he was going to be bugging us or something. I just wanted to give him a hug."

"You _did_ give him a hug," Nik pointed out. He had been very aware of Caroline's behavior as he and Henrik had left the house yesterday, and he'd noticed Henrik's behavior after that. No matter that it was a short meeting, Henrik had clearly taken a liking to Caroline.

"I couldn't help myself," Caroline defended. "He looked like a little puppy. I think it was the eyes."

"Henrik has my eyes," Nik noted. "I don't see you giving me a hug."

"Yes, but his are somehow warmer? As if he's not secretly hiding the weight of the world on his shoulders."

"That's because my youngest brother is a good kid who has no reason to believe that the world is out to get him. His family loves him, and he knows that, we've made it sure he knows that. I, on the other hand..." Nik trailed off.

"Does he know you're seeing a psychiatrist?"

"Yes he does. I told him after we'd left 'Lijah's yesterday; he asked how I already knew you, and I didn't want to lie to him."

"Why not?"

"Because I've never lied to him. I've never seen the reason to."

"'You can only build trust with the truth', sort of thing?"

"Exactly. Are you going to go bringing up that damned phone call again, love? I thought we were past that. We had a little spat, Caroline. I'm over it already."

Caroline sidestepped his question, instead posing her own. "How did he react to knowing that you were in therapy?"

Klaus leaned his head back over his chair, staring at the ceiling. She was pretty sure he was trying to evade her gaze, but maybe his neck just hurt. "Henrik seemed to be expecting news like this. He said he'd wanted me to talk to someone for a long time, but he didn't know if I'd be comfortable with the idea. After having met _you_, however, he seems to think that my mental health is in excellent hands."

Caroline looked down at her hands. She was pretty happy with them.

"Those aren't the hands I meant. I mean, I didn't literally mean your actual hands," Klaus told her. He had straightened and was now looking directly at her. Caroline let her hands fall onto the table.

"I know you didn't. But you know what? That's a pretty mature reaction for an eighteen-year-old."

"The boy is perceptive," Nik agreed.

"Have you told any of your other siblings that I'm your therapist? Do they even know you have a therapist?"

"Elijah and Katherine know, and Henrik, obviously, but Kol and Rebekah do not. I don't feel the need to bother Finn with these tiny details about my life, but my sister will come to know at some point, as will Kol."

"Why don't you want to tell them?"

"I have no idea," he answered honestly. "But the idea doesn't seem appealing in the least. Now, can we talk about something else because this is slightly boring and honestly, I'm emotionally exhausted."

Caroline checked her watch, and, finding out that Klaus didn't have too much time left in his session, acquiesced. "Sure. How many siblings do you have?"

"Five. Four brothers and a sister."

"And are you guys all close?"

"Caroline," he stared at her. "Dr. Forbes, whatever you want me go call you, can we please change the subject? I don't want to talk about my family."

"Klaus!"

"Change. Of. Subject."

"Fine," she sighed. "How far are you in Game of Thrones?"

"I've almost finished it," he said, pleased. "I canceled on lunch with Stefan Salvatore today just so I could stay in the office and read another few hundred pages."

"Oh, my God. How long is your lunch hour?"

"Not nearly long enough."

"So," Katherine started, returning from the kitchen with two cups of tea. She handed one to her youngest brother-in-law, who quickly stuffed his iPhone in his pocket, and then sat down across from him. "You wanna talk?"

Henrik had been mostly silent all through dinner, and Kat had been treated to the sounds of her own voice and utensils scraping across china plates. She had let him be mopey while eating, figuring that it was probably something teenagers did, but enough was enough. If he wanted to complain about something stupid, she'd let him, comfort him, and help him feel better.

"I think I hate college," Henrik said. "And I definitely hate my roommate."

"Are you being serious right now?" Katherine asked in confusion. Of all the things she'd thought would come out of Henrik's mouth, his immature hatred of his roommate, who he'd only been living with for a _week_, was unexpected.

"Of course I'm being serious. It's not the only reason why I feel like crap right now," he explained, holding up his hands in defense. "But it's the easiest to talk about."

"Okay, new rule," she told him, grabbing a pillow. She leaned into the couch and curled her legs underneath her for a more comfortable position, figuring they'd be here for a while. "Start with the hard stuff, whatever is weighing on your mind the heaviest. You've gone through a lot of changes in the past two weeks, and we're all worried about you."

"I don't really think you are, though," Henrik replied, his voice low. He averted his gaze, knowing that his words would rattle Katherine.

"What? You don't think we're worried about you? Henrik, that's ridiculous!"

He shrugged. "Everyone's just kind of...moving on without me. I've talked to 'Lijah _once_ this entire week. You and I hadn't spoken since you called me on Monday, and okay, maybe Bekah calls every day, but Kol just invited me out last Friday and then ditched me. I haven't heard from him since. What am I supposed to think, if the only sibling of mine that actually seems to care is the one that is obligated to?"

"You take that back right now, Henrik. Nik does not care about you because he is _obligated _to, he cares because he loves you. Your brother raised you, he devoted a decade of his life to you, and his goal was to make sure that you were a happy and healthy child. You have no right to say that he only did it because it was an obligation."

Henrik instantly felt guilty. Katherine was right. Just because he was feeling like crap today didn't mean that he could just say whatever he wanted about his family. "I- shit, Katherine. You're right, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"You better not have," she said sternly. Nevertheless, she reached out and put one hand over his, expression softening. "What is really up with you? Come on, out with it. You know your brothers get busy sometimes, but that doesn't affect you. I know you, Henry. You are not a needy kid."

"...I miss my parents."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Henrik paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "My roommate Andrew is apparently really family-oriented? Which, you know, we are too. But you guys didn't meet him when you helped me move in last Thursday. He moved in on, like, Saturday, with his entire family. I mean, you guys all showed up, too, and that was really great, but his mum kept talking about coming home for dinner and taking care of himself and how he should come home when he had to do laundry, because she'd do it for him. She baked him cookies, and she left them on his desk when they left. I ate some, they were really good. "

"Henry..."

"Mum never baked. But she did my laundry," the teenager said quietly. "I wish she'd do it for me now. Or, at least, tell me to man up and wash my own clothes."

"I'll do your laundry, Henry," Katherine whispered. "Or I'll teach you. Whatever you want, I _will_."

"It's not fair." Henrik wasn't crying, but his voice was really quiet. He was trying to stay in control as much as he could; Katherine was one of the people he loved most in the world, but he didn't want anyone to see him cry. "They're just gone. It's stupid, I know, it's been nine years... I haven't felt like this in a long time, but- coming to New York? Its been great and horrible at the same time."

"Why has it been horrible?"

"Everyone's moving on!" he snapped. "It's- I mean- It's not like I expected all of your lives to revolve around me forever, or anything, but you and 'Lijah have been working ridiculously hard, all week, Kol's business is booming, Rebekah's on some high-profile case, and Nik is trying to live for himself. That's what he's got do now, concentrate on himself. He spent a decade of his life putting me first, and now that he's finally his own first priority, I start to want more. From everyone."

Katherine got up from her seat on the couch and went to go sit on the arm of Henrik's chair. She wrapped her arms around him and started massaging his shoulders, and he leaned into her touch. "You're allowed to have feelings, kid. It's okay to feel like no one cares sometimes. You've been through a lot in your life, and to your credit, you are not some gothic teenager who keeps to himself all the time. You are a joy to have around, you know? You make people love you, Henrik. I never met your parents, but what I've heard about them is that they loved their kids. They loved you so much that they couldn't wait to get back home to you after just a few hours out to dinner. I know you feel horrible. but you have their memories, and you know you have their love. Trust me, as a parent, I can tell you that no matter what, we only want our kids to be happy."

"I am happy. I am, and I don't want you to think that I'm complaining about everything in my life. It's just that Andrew doesn't know that Mum and Dad are gone, and I don't want to tell him, either, because I don't know how close we're gonna be. How do I know if this is going to be a 'Ted and Marshall' situation? Needlessly telling him the gritty details about my life doesn't sound appealing."

Katherine breathed a small sigh of relief at the change to a lighter topic, blinking back the tears that had formed. She still had no idea how to answer his questions, but at least this was something she felt talking about. "I don't really know. As far as back as I can remember, I've had one best friend."

"Caroline," Henrik stated, pulling forward. He turned his head so that he could look up at her.

She pulled her hands up to her chest, giving him an expression of surprise. "How do you know about Caroline?"

"Oh. Well, 'Lijah asked Nik and I to drop in yesterday, since Karen was sick. He figured that we, or rather _I_, would be good at entertaining her during one of her moods. Caroline was here babysitting when we came by. Karen told me she's her godmother."

"You guys came by yesterday?" Katherine asked loudly, getting off the arm of the chair. She started pacing, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, God. Why didn't my husband tell me any of this?"

"Probably because he knew you'd kill him if you found out that he was the reason that Nik and Caroline were in the dining room, arguing."

"What?"

"She was really nice to me, though."

Of course she was, Katherine thought wryly. Caroline would be pissed at her and she'd be pissed at Nik, but she wasn't the type to take out her anger on third-party bystanders. It wasn't her style. She'd probably been extremely charming to Henrik, and now it would be hard to explain how Nik and Caroline even knew each other.

"She and Nik met through me," Katherine said awkwardly, trying to explain the situation. "And your brother was kind of...rude..."

"So were you, I gather. It's not right to undermine someone's professional authority. I mean, I get that you were only trying to help, but she's right. You were enabling him."

Katherine started staring at him as if he had three heads. The conversation tonight had been all over the board, from teen drama, to reminiscing about his parents, to Nik's therapy.

Somehow everything always seemed to come back to Nik.

"Wait, you know that Nik's in therapy?"

"And Caroline's his shrink, yes."

"How do you know this?"

"Nik told me," Henrik said simply. "I'd been expecting it. He spent a lot of his time working or taking care of me, and the rest of the time, he was angry, angsty, or depressed. No, wait! You're distracting me! I asked you about your friendship with Caroline."

"Okay, and I will get to that, but-"

"No, come on. She's your best friend, she's been your best friend for as long as you can remember, and she is godmother to both of your daughters. Now she's mad at you, and all you can say is that you were trying to help your brother-in-law?"

"Are you sure you're eighteen? Because I am supposed to be comforting _you. _I am supposed to be giving advice to _you. _It's not the other way around."

Her brother-in-law shrugged. "Why can't it be? I am pretty good at everything."

"If you're pretty good at everything, why do you need my help with laundry?"

"If you're so good with words, why can't you apologize to your best friend? Also, didn't you say you would do my laundry? Can I just leave it here and pick it up on Sunday when I come for brunch?"

"I don't like being wrong, okay? And I was clearly wrong here. I hurt her, I knowingly did something that I knew would hurt her, but I did it because Nik asked me to. I thoight that she would understand why I did it, because Nik is family. She thinks I was choosing his side. And between Caroline and Nik? I can't choose. So how do I tell my best friend, someone I love like my sister, that I sided with Nik even though I knew it was going to hurt her? How do I tell her I thought she'd understand why I did it, just because it involved my family? I can't. Acting like it wasn't a big deal was technically going to be my M.O., but that's not working out so well."

"That's the problem with this family. We don't like admitting when we've made mistakes," Henrik replied. "You should talk to Caroline tomorrow."

He had only met her for a short time yesterday, but he had a feeling that Caroline was going to be really good for their family. What better way than for her to help Nik through his issues and then fall in love with him? Women loved when they could "fix" men, right? And Nik was attractive, wasn't he? I mean, it made sense.

"Nik is attractive right?"

Katherine stared at him. "What?"

"Nik, he's attractive, right?"

"Okay, I'm not having this conversation with you, but to get you off my back, yes, all of your brothers are very attractive. But Elijah is the best. And yes, I will do your laundry," she raised her finger to quiet him when he opened his mouth to speak. "_On the condition _that you go and try to be friends with your roommate. Okay?"

"Andrew is seriously annoying. That isn't fair."

"Henry," she said warningly, her eyes stern. "I wasn't asking you so much as I was telling you."

Henrik sighed. "Fine. What time is it?"

"It's nine. Why? You heading back?"

"Yeah," he got up from the couch and stretched, the bones in his spine setting into place. "I think I will. My laundry-"

"Just leave it," she said quickly. "Take it back with you after Sunday brunch."

"Caroline better be there," Henrik said, walking towards the front door. Before he could open it, though, the lock clicked and it swung inwards, revealing Elijah's surprised face.

"Henry." Elijah greeted his younger brother with a nod.

"'Lijah," Henrik said, smiling as he stepped into the hallway. "See you at Sunday brunch!"

Elijah watched in confusion as his youngest brother walked down the hallway towards the elevator, whistling as he went. What was Henrik so happy about? He turned back to his wife, who had narrowed her gaze at him. Katherine had crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her feet against the tile. The sound echoed off of the marble flooring, and he met her gaze slightly afraid of what was to come.

What had Henrik said to Katherine that could have made his wife so mad? They had probably talked about Karen being sick and, and- _oh, shit_.

"Kat. Katherine, I can explain," he said, stepping inside.

"Oh, can you, really? You had _one job, _Elijah_!" _

He was in for a long night, Elijah sighed. A long, long night.

* * *

"So," Klaus started when they got in the elevator. "What are you doing tonight?" He pressed the button for the lobby, hoping they'd make their way down uninterrupted. He hated having to make multiple elevator stops.

"I'm going to Kol's club, probably see if Stefan and Rebekah are there, maybe Bonnie will be, too. Why? What are your plans?"

"I'm actually going to the club as well. Figured I'd ask everyone if they wanted to get some dinner. Mind if I just come with you?"

"Oh," Caroline paused. "Er, actually, I don't think that's the best idea."

Klaus stared at her in confusion. "We're at the same place, and we're going to the same place. I think it's a perfectly good idea."

"I think I'm just going to go home, actually," she said quickly. "You're my patient, and while I do think it's important that you're comfortable around me, it's not a good idea to spend a lot of time together outside of sessions. It can blur the professional line. I can find out things about you that maybe you don't want me to know yet, and technically, I never stop psychoanalyzing people. It would be a really bad idea to be friends."

"So what you're saying is that we should act like a divorced couple who never wants to end up seeing the other person at a mutual friend's gathering."

He was laughing at her, the bastard.

"Um, no, I was thinking slightly less awkward than that." Caroline held up two fingers with an inch of space between them. "Just slightly."

"You're being ridiculous, Caroline, it'll be fine. Besides, we have the same friends now. I'm not going to call you and tell you not to go somewhere just because _I_ want to go, that would be ridiculous. We are both adults, and we can handle this. Now come on, I'm going to find us a cab," Klaus said, as if she had no say in the matter.

The elevator doors opened and Klaus stepped out first, his large strides making it a little difficult for her to keep up with him in heels. Within seconds, he had pushed past the revolving glass doors and whistled loudly, holding up his other hand for a cab. A yellow and black NYC taxicab pulled up almost instantly, and she couldn't help but look impressed. It had taken her _months_ to hail a taxi with that speed.

"London has excellent public transportation as well, Caroline. I grew up hailing cabs," he said, noticing the look on her face. He held open the door to the cab for her. "Come on, get in. You know you want to."

She made the decision in a split-second and got into the cab, shooting him a glare before he could say anything else. He slipped in beside her and closed the door, and she leaned forward to give the cabbie directions to 21 Club.

They made small talk for the twenty-minute ride, and she was laughing at something he'd said when they walked into the Bar Room. There were only three people sitting there, Rebekah, Stefan, and Bonnie, as Caroline had guessed in the elevator earlier. All three stopped talking when they saw Nik walk in with Caroline.

"Whoa, Nik is smiling?" Rebekah commented, putting her drink down. She looked at the two of them in confusion. "I didn't even know you two knew each other."

Caroline looked at Klaus, her mind flashing back to what he'd told her earlier. Rebekah and Kol didn't know, but he wanted to tell them at some point. _He _wanted to tell them. It wasn't her place to say, and this wasn't the right time or place.

Nik froze, wondering how he was going to get himself out of this situation. He could just say he'd bumped into her at the club last week, but that wouldn't explain how he'd walked in with her, seemingly enjoying a conversation.

"We met yesterday. Nik and Henrik dropped in to visit Karen when I was babysitting," Caroline said quickly, solving the problem for him.

If anyone was suspicious, they didn't say anything.

"That's all very well and good," a voice said from behind the two of them. It was Kol, who'd just appeared from his usual rounds around the room. Tonight, the club was especially packed, and so his self-appointed duties took longer than usual to complete. "You guys need to leave."

"Kol!"

"Brother, that's not fair."

"We just got here!"

"No, I don't want to hear it. There are actual paying customers waiting for a table," Kol replied, gesturing to the main entrance, the one the group never used. "I can't have you guys wasting away this VIP table when business is booming. Sorry, but you need to leave."

"You are horrible, Kol," Rebekah snapped, sliding out of the booth. She left her drink on the table, and when Kol pointed it out, she just made a face at him and went to stand next to Nik.

"What are we doing for dinner?" Stefan asked once everyone was standing.

"I know a place," Nik said. "Do you guys trust me?"

As the rest of the group, with the exception of Kol, nodded at Nik, Caroline smiled to herself.

Progress, thy name is Klaus Mikaelson.

* * *

**A/N: **Guys, guys. Look, she thinks he's attractive! Look, he's calling her by her first name! Will they kiss next chapter? No. According to everyone I know who sees a shrink (which is actually more people than I thought, unfortunately. Damn you, Los Angeles water supply!), it's okay to call your shrink by their first name. It depends on what your relationship is with your therapist, and how comfortable you are around them.

The Henrik storyline is important to me. A lot of you guys really love Henrik, and I realized that I'd written all of the good parts of him into only one chapter. He's eighteen years old! Never mind that he's, you know, rich and stuff. The kid lost his parents and then had to deal with the fact that the rest of his family was spread across two continents. He's going to feel like crap some of the times. It's what eighteen year olds do. Plus, he has some good reasons.

I am in the process of plotting this fic out, chapter-by-chapter. I would like it if you could drop me a review/pm/tumblr message (_givemeklaus_) about the length of the chapter. I'd like to make chapters around 5 or 6k. If this is too long, let me know! I'll see what I can do.

Review template:

_Dear Meha, _

_This chapter was (choppy/interesting/flowed smoothly/emotional to read)._

_I feel bad for Henrik. The kid lost his parents really young. _

_I (like/don't like) how you're writing Klaroline. Klaus is (canon/canon-ish/barely canon/totally OOC), and Caroline is (canon/barely canon/totally OOC), too. _

_Include more of (insert your favorite character/ship here). _

_One thing I really liked about this chapter was (insert one thing you really like about this chapter)._

_One thing I really disliked about this chapter was (insert one thing you didn't really like). _

_-Your name here-_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Yes, you are reading this properly. No, it is not Saturday.

Special thanks to Briana, my beta, for helping me with my earlier deadline. She's the best. She really is.

More Author's Notes at the bottom, so stick around.

Next chapter will be up on **Monday**.

Happy reading!

* * *

Nik had barely knocked on the door to Katherine and Elijah's penthouse when the door swung open, revealing Kol. The bastard had probably been waiting in their brother's foyer since he entered the place himself, having arrived literally moments before Nik. When Kol entered the elevator downstairs three minutes ago, Nik had been running to catch it before the doors closed. Kol, as a joke, let them shut before Nik could get in.

Nik growled at the sight of his brother. "You bastard."

Kol shrugged, not bothering to hide his smirk. "Kat yells at whoever comes last. I didn't want to chance it. If she's going to yell at anyone, better you than me."

Nik shook his head, brushing the excuse aside. "Whatever, Kol."

Nik was cranky. He hadn't eaten anything since he'd woken up four hours ago, not wanting to risk being full and having to face Katherine's wrath. When she invited people over for meals, she expected them to be completely starving and ready to eat their own weight in food. As a result, they were all trained to show up hungry. She had put effort into planning a good meal for everyone, and they were supposed to be grateful. Now, Nik was starving, and Kol's childish behavior was doing nothing to help his already sour mood. Noticing this, Kol let his brother in and guided Nik into the depths of the apartment, following the sound of voices. Everyone else was already here, Nik guessed, but he didn't really know whom to be expecting.

When Katherine had called yesterday and told him that he needed to get his ass over to the Sunday family brunch, he assumed it would just be his siblings. Turning into the dining room, however, he saw Elena and Damon Salvatore, as well as Jeremy Gilbert. The adjoining door to the kitchen was open, as well, so he could clearly see Stefan Salvatore leaning against the fridge, trapping Rebekah between his arms. Then Stefan leaned in for a kiss.

_That_ was not something he needed to see, Nik thought. While Rebekah's life was her own, and she'd most likely castrate him if he so much as tried to pull her away from Stefan, her now obviously "on" boyfriend, Nik was still her older brother. No one was actually _good enough_ for his little sister, no matter what she thought, and he'd likely have the urge to pull her away from any male. Looking away was the best course of action if he didn't want to be yelled at. Or castrated.

With the women in this family, he could never really tell where the boundaries were.

So many family occasions had been ruined because of him, and this one, while casual and unimportant, was going to be the event that broke that trend. Even if it meant he had to shut up and endure the PDA.

Katherine came up to him then, two glasses of champagne in her hands. She took a sip from one and offered him the other, which Nik gladly took. He'd already come to the conclusion that he was going to need alcohol if everyone was going to be lovey-dovey with their significant others. Two therapy sessions weren't enough to deal with that.

"What is this?" he asked in greeting. "I thought you said it was a family brunch."

Katherine raised her eyebrow. "It is a family brunch. It's _my _family brunch."

Clearly, since the Salvatores weren't _Nik's_ family.

He had thought it was going to be a small gathering with only his siblings in attendance, but he was wrong. Katherine had invited her siblings, and Bonnie had tagged along with Jeremy. He didn't know what the relationship was there, but judging by the way they were holding hands, there was _something_.

"You never mentioned that Damon Salvatore would be here this morning, Kat," Kol pointed out conversationally, dipping a strawberry into the little bit of cream he had on his plate. He put it in his mouth and chewed before continuing, his lips red. "You know I don't get along with Damon Salvatore."

"Not my problem, Kol," Katherine shrugged, unperturbed. It wasn't her job to make sure that everyone had resolved their fights. People would be people; they would hold grudges for stupid reasons. Kol and Damon were, despite all of their faults, mature adults who could handle their own issues. Besides, there were enough people here to ensure that they didn't _have_ to interact. "You're my brother-in law, but he is, too. So, my advice to you is to just ignore him. Go talk to Bonnie or something. Whatever you do, stay away from Damon and my furniture." If they could hang out peacefully at the club, she thought, then they should be able to do so anywhere else.

Katherine's gaze wasn't actually _on _Kol as she was speaking to him, but Nik noticed a flash of emotion in Kol's eyes at the mention of Bonnie. He reminded himself to ask Kol about it later.

The doorbell rang again. Kol wandered off, and Katherine excused herself to welcome her newest guest. She was playing hostess with remarkable charm, probably a role she had mastered after seven years of playing the perfect Upper East Side wife. This brunch was a mini-event in and of itself.

Two tables were set up next to the ceiling-to-floor glass wall overlooking Central Park. One of them had a few bottles of champagne, various juices, and milk, with the empty champagne flutes and glasses lined up neatly. The other had a variety of breakfast foods, and there was a giant space between the two waffle-makers that housed six different types of syrup.

The dining table was empty, but they were free to disperse and eat in the rest of the large, two-story home. Bedrooms were avoided on principal, but as Nik's gaze fell on Stefan trying to shove his tongue down Rebekah's throat once again, he actually _wished _for them to get a room.

"No one needs to see that," a voice said from behind him. He turned to see Henrik approaching. The teen had a plate stacked with pancakes and fruit, but despite the delicious food in his hand, Henrik looked disgusted. "Jesus, Bekah," Henrik said loudly, garnering his sister's attention. "Go get a room."

"Shut up, Henry," Rebekah snapped, automatically pushing Stefan away from her. "Just because you can't even get a girl-"

"Bekah, really," Nik interrupted calmly. "Are you going to have this argument with someone ten years your junior?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "What good are his childhood memories if the boy can't even have a stupid argument with his sister once in a while?"

Henrik snorted. "Stop being a strumpet, Bekah."

"Henry, if you're going to insult me, at least use the word properly."

"No, no, Bekah, he's right," Kol claimed, walking up and throwing an arm around Henrik's shoulder. "You do act like a strumpet."

"Alright, let's all stop ganging up on Rebekah, please," Stefan said, putting one hand up. He wrapped his other hand around Rebekah's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Why can't you all be as nice to me as Stefan is?" Rebekah pouted, looking from her brothers to the man standing next to her. She smiled and wrapped both her arms around his waist. They'd gotten back together on Thursday night, Nik knew, and with what little knowledge Katherine had told him about their relationship, Nik figured the honeymoon phase would be on for another two weeks. Still, at some point, the blonde Salvatore was going to have to get his shit together and pop the question. Stringing Rebekah along was not an option anymore.

"Because he is not your brother, and thank God for that," Elijah said, appearing in the kitchen. Caroline was at his side, and Katherine followed the two of them, arms crossed over her chest. Both women looked upset, evident through the scowls they were both wearing, but Caroline dropped hers when Rebekah greeted her with a hug. Stefan, left to himself, allowed Kol and Henrik to pull him away.

"I'm so glad you're here, Caroline," Rebekah said, taking Caroline's hand and dragging her from the room. "I know I should probably set up a proper meeting, but I need your help with something. See, I have this client and he's saying that..."

Nik tuned out the rest of Rebekah's words, only registering Caroline's welcoming smile. He nodded once at her in acknowledgment as she followed Rebekah through the door, before turning his attention back to Katherine and Elijah. They'd both noticed the nonverbal communication, but, while Elijah smiled at the interaction, Katherine just scowled deeper.

"Why has she forgiven you?" Katherine demanded, arms crossed over her chest. "She won't even look at me, it's like she only showed up to give me the silent treatment. She's acting childish."

"On the contrary, Katerina," Elijah said, looking at his wife above the rim of his champagne glass. "You were the two being childish."

"Whose side are you on, 'Lijah?" Katherine asked quietly, almost as if she didn't want to know the answer.

"Caroline's," he answered calmly. "Because she is right." Elijah tipped his glass in his wife's direction, nodded once at his brother, and then walked away with a smirk on his face. Nik felt like laughing, but Katherine's glare was now faced at him.

"What did you even say to her to make her forgive you?"

Nik shrugged. "I opened up. I actually talked to her, I explained myself, and I apologized. That was really all she wanted out of me. See, Katherine," he said, sticking one hand in his pocket. His other hand started gesturing, champagne glass and all. "Caroline doesn't care about me on a personal level. She just thought that, as her patient, I was being an arrogant jackass. Now, you, on the other hand, you are her best friend, someone she has known forever. _Your_ betrayal stings much, much more, since she actually cares about you."

He didn't actually know if a single word of that was true, but considering the difference between the way she treated him and the way she treated Katherine, he was probably right. The question was why was Katherine being purposely obtuse?

"You actually apologized?"

He honestly couldn't remember if he had or not. But that wasn't the point, was it? "I am capable of the action."

"No, you're not. No one in this family is! Even when Elijah does something wrong, all he does is try to justify his actions. I can count on one hand the amount of times my husband has apologized to people in the past _decade_."

"I don't know if you know this, but 'Lijah and I are two distinctly different people. Now, I suggest you run along, find your peppy little blonde friend, and try to fix your situation."

Katherine sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. "Okay, yeah, you're right."

"You deal with cutthroat businessman on a daily basis, but apologizing to Caroline is something that you're reluctant to do? We were wrong, Katherine, just go apologize. Three words, it' isn't that hard."

"Nik, do me a favor," his sister-in-law held up a finger in front of his face. He stepped back, not wanting her to start poking him. It was a habit of hers that he really disliked. "Stop sticking your nose in other people's business."

"Stop sticking your finger into my chest."

Katherine glared at him. "I'm serious, Nik."

"Funny, since we're in this position because you stuck your nose in my business."

"_You_ asked me to!"

"Details, details," he waved her words away. "Are you going to go apologize or not?"

Before Katherine could answer, Nik saw Caroline walking by, now free from Rebekah's clutches. He reached out and grabbed her upper arm and pulled her closer, letting her go once she was standing in front of Katherine. Caroline looked confused, her gaze moving from his hand on her arm to his eyes, never straying to Katherine. She glared at him as he smirked, gesturing between the two women. "You have both tried to help me with my problems," he said, eyes flicking from his sister-in-law to his therapist. "Now I'm trying to help you with yours. Talk to each other." Then, as he walked away from them, he whispered to Katherine, "Apologize."

Who said he never did anything nice for anyone else?

But now he needed to do something nice for himself and get food.

He really _was _starving.

* * *

Caroline was _pissed_. Not only had Klaus given her no choice but to talk to Katherine, he'd then walked away, leaving her with her bitch of a best friend and no way out.

"I don't want to talk to you," she announced. Katherine didn't really give her a choice, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the dining room. They stopped at the stairs, where Caroline pulled her hand away. By this point, though, Katherine was in full-on fight mode.

Katherine motioned to the stairs with her head and gestured for Caroline to go first. "Let's go, c'mon, we're doing this."

"Kat..."

"The girls are still sick. They're asleep downstairs, so if we're going to be yelling and pulling each other's hair out, I'd rather not wake them up. And not fighting is not an option anymore because I need my best friend back, and you're just itching to have it out with me. I'd appreciate it if we could just get this over with."

"Oh, get this _over with? _Is that how much I mean to you?"

"Caroline," Katherine said dangerously. "Seriously?"

"Fine," Caroline huffed, pushing back her curls. They made their way up the stairs and into the large master bedroom, and Katherine had only just shut the door before Caroline started ranting. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"Excuse me?"

"No, don't just stand there and act oblivious. It's not like I'm hurting your feelings, Katherine. I'm asking you something. Who the fuck do you think you are to undermine me in front of one of my patients?"

"Caroline," Katherine said, taking a step forward. "Nik is _family_, and with the Mikaelsons, you know that it's 'Family-'"

"I don't care, Katherine. You made a fool out of me, you betrayed my trust in you, and you tried to use our friendship to enable him! It's not even about the fact that he had trust issues, anymore," Caroline said, gesturing wildly to nothing in particular. "That is _his_ problem, and I am helping him with that. I can understand why he came to you, and why he asked you to test me. I get it. From his point of view, I get it. What I don't, for the life of me, understand, is why _you_ thought it would be okay to trick me like that, just so he could feel better."

"I thought I was helping..."

"Well, you weren't. All you did was prove to me that you didn't care about what I was going to feel. You thought, 'Oh, Caroline will understand. Caroline always understands!'"

"You need to _stop,_" Katherine said firmly. "I'm pretty sure that you're two seconds away from self-deprecation, so let me just say what I have to say before that happens. Is that okay with you, your Royal Highness?"

"Don't turn this around on me!" Caroline yelled. "I'm mad at _you. _You hurt me. Does that make sense to you? You chose his feelings over mine. You're supposed to be my best friend. We have been there for each other through everything, Katherine, but this is ridiculous. You entrusted him to me," Caroline said, her voice softening. She willed Katherine to understand. "If you wanted to help him deal with these issues in your own way, Kat, you shouldn't have gotten a professional involved. That's the thing, Kat. I'm not a having this argument with you _just _as your best friend; I'm also talking to you as Klaus' therapist. What you did was really rude, on a personal and a professional level."

"I was trying to _help_ him," Katherine said, now desperate herself. "Caroline, if I didn't care about your feelings, why would I send him to you? New York is an easy city to find a therapist in, there's like one on every block or something. But I entrusted my brother-in-law to _you _because I know that you are good at what you do. In this family, the Mikaelsons take care of themselves first. They will literally fight until death for each other, and since I married Elijah, that rule applies to me, too. I care about him, despite how much we fight and bicker. I love Nik; he's like an older brother to me. And after everything he's been through...Caroline," Katherine laughed sadly. "You think you know him in such a short time, I know you do. I can see it in your eyes, along with that look that gives away how badly you want to help him. But whatever he's told you, Care, it's nothing. It's barely a drop in the ocean that is Niklaus Mikaelson."

"I know-"

"No, Caroline, you don't know. He was ready to just not come back to therapy. He literally called me the second he got out of that session, and he said, 'Kat, what if she tells you everything?' Because that is how deep his trust issues run. And then you texted me, and you told me that you didn't want to say anything else about him," Katherine paused to take a breath. "I told him that you would never betray his trust, Caroline, and the only reason I went along with it is because your actions would prove your trustworthiness more than my words would ever be able to. I knew that you would never say anything, Care. I didn't think the test was really a test. It was just me proving to him that you are exactly who I told him you were. A professional, someone who he could trust. I wasn't doing it to hurt you, I promise."

"But you did, Kat," Caroline sighed, running her hands through her hair. She took a few steps back before she collapsed onto the bed. She understood now why Katherine had created the conference call, but while she understood what Katherine was trying to say, Katherine wasn't reciprocating. "You made me feel like I wasn't good at my job. You interfered with the doctor-patient relationship, and you made it _personal_. It's not personal for me. He may be your brother-in-law, but he is my patient."

"Wait, what?"

The blonde took a deep breath. Explaining this was going to be complicated. "When you suggested to Nik that he should see a psychiatrist, you already had me in your mind, right?"

"Yeah, I did. You're good at your job, there's no one I'd trust more with my family."

"Okay," Caroline pointed out, one arm outstretched towards Katherine. "And that, right there, that's the problem. He's your family. You see him differently than I do. How do I explain this? Oh, God. Okay so, from a physical standpoint, your doctor looks at you differently than your friends and family, right? Friends and family see the color of your hair and eyes, the way your mouth quirks just before you laugh; they know the curve of your body and the color of your skin. But, a doctor doesn't exactly see you like that. What the doctor sees are your blood pressure and your temperature, your exact weight and height..."

"You don't see Nik like I do," Katherine supplied. "You see him as someone who has trust issues, and you want to help him overcome those. We see him as someone who has trust issues, and we do what we can to help assuage those fears, even if it means enabling him and making them worse."

"Exactly. You know so much about him, things that I can only hope to find out. Katherine, It's just- you know, being someone's therapist is a lot different than being their friend. I can only get to know him as much as he lets me; I only know see what he shows me. And I can't, even if it's for his own good, tell anyone what he tells me. I can only get involved up to a point. There are boundaries, and you crossed one."

"I'm sorry, Care," Katherine said quietly. At this, Caroline pushed herself up, so that she could look at Katherine. There was an expression of disbelief on the blonde's face, and she looked around the room, double-checking that she was still on Earth and not in an alternate universe.

"I'm sorry," Caroline said, rubbing her eyes. "What? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"

"Shut up, and accept it, okay?" Katherine said begrudgingly. "You heard me the first time."

"No, no, I don't think I did," Caroline said.

"Caroline..."

Caroline got off the bed and started walking towards the brunette. "What did you say, Katherine? I _really_ don't think I heard you the first time."

By this point, both women had tentative smiles on their faces. This fight, while not nearly as bad as any of the others, had been much worse emotionally. The thing was, though, that Katherine had never apologized before. As far back as Caroline could remember, _she _had always been the one apologizing, whether she was wrong or not. Which is not to say that Katherine was never truly apologetic, because she was. Only in Katherine's case, she apologized using material gifts instead of words. Gift cards and purses, shoes and dresses, anything but actually saying those two godforsaken words.

The fact that Katherine had actually said the words 'I'm sorry' meant a lot to Caroline, simply because her best friend was actually admitting that what she had done was wrong, underhanded, unprofessional, and childish.

Just not in so many words. But she'd take what she could get.

"I said I'm sorry, you bitch! Now can you just awkwardly hug me so we can go back to being okay? I need my best friend because my entire family is out there. Elena is here and I love my sister but she is annoying as _hell."_

Caroline, about to go in for the aforementioned awkward hug, pulled back. "Wait, if this is a family brunch, why am I here?"

"Caroline. _Caroline_. No self-deprecation, please," Katherine said seriously, grabbing the blonde by the shoulders. "You are here because you are my family. I know you think that I was choosing Nik over you, but I need you to know, in all honesty, I would never be able to choose between you two, okay? You are just as much my family as he is, Care."

"Okay, okay," Caroline laughed, pulling Katherine in for a hug. "But no more interfering in my professional relationship with Klaus, okay?"

"Okay."

"Seriously, you have to promise me this."

"I fucking _promise_, Caroline, now can we go downstairs? I am _starving_. Christ, you put together an entire meal for people and then none of them let you actually eat anything."

* * *

"Hey, Klaus!"

Nik turned around to see Jeremy Gilbert walking up to the food. He grabbed a plate and followed Nik down the length of the table, piling his plate with pancakes and fruit.

"Well if it isn't Jeremy Gilbert, the twenty-year-old college graduate!" Nik said. The boy had grown up, and now he was almost a mini-Hulk. Was he taking steroids?

"I'm twenty-seven now, actually," Jeremy laughed. "But good to know that I'm remembered."

"Graduating from college in two and a half years is actually pretty damn impressive, Gilbert, I don't know how you could expect anyone to forget that."

Jeremy shrugged, stepping away from the table as he added the last of the strawberries to his plate. "Where's the cream?"

"Right here," Nik said, picking it off the table and handing it over. Jeremy poured some onto his plate and put the cream container down, but didn't move away. To dispel the awkwardness, Nik continued, "So what are you doing now?"

Jeremy shrugged. "Basically I deprive myself of sleep." At Nik's questioning look, he continued. "I'm a surgical resident, second-year."

"Really?"

"Yep. New York Presbyterian."

"...I don't know what that is?" Klaus asked, brows furrowed.

"Columbia- Cornell teaching hospital," Jeremy explained. As Kol had done earlier, he dipped a strawberry and cream and then stuffed it into his mouth, biting off the stems.

"Oh, that _is _impressive."

"It helps when you have a fail-safe support system," Jeremy said humbly, motioning around. "All of these people. Plus, Kol's a really good friend of mine, and then, of course, my fiancé. She's incredibly supportive, even when I work for 72 hours at time."

"You're getting married? Sure you want a ball-and-chain?"

At this, Jeremy threw back his head and laughed. "Why does everyone always say that?"

"It's true. Marriage is just one of those tricky things," Nik said awkwardly. He'd meant for it to come off as a joke, but he supposed that marriage was still a sore topic for him. He shook his head free of those thoughts. Not everything in his life had to lead back to Tatia. "But who is the lucky girl?"

Jeremy pointed at the dark-skinned girl who was currently talking to Kol and Henrik. Bonnie was laughing loudly, and when she put up her hand to cover her mouth, Nik saw the ring. He didn't know why he was surprised, considering that he'd seen the two holding hands earlier, but he'd also noted the way Kol reacted when Bonnie name was mentioned.

He saw the way Kol looked at the girl now. As if she was the epitome of all of his hopes and dreams and wants, everything he'd ever want out of life.

Well, _shit. _

"You're marrying Bonnie?" he asked in surprise, using what little tact he had to make a joke. "Like the older women, do you?"

"It's only one year!" Jeremy defended, clearly in jest.

Bonnie looked up and, noticing Jeremy's eyes on her, called him over. Nik, with nothing better to do, followed, taking a bite of his bagel as he went. Henrik and Bonnie were in a conversation about school, and Henrik turned to Nik as he and Jeremy joined the group. Kol, noticing his older brother's stare, averted his gaze, instead giving Bonnie a soft smile. Jeremy, oblivious to what was going on, grabbed his fiancée's hand.

"Hey, Nik," Henrik smiled. "Bonnie was just telling me about the many positives that come with being a biology major."

"That doesn't sound like something you'd be remotely interested in," Nik replied distractedly, keeping his gaze on Kol. Henrik obviously noticed, since he didn't say much after that. The woman of the hour, instead, continued the conversation.

"I'm a biology professor at the City University of New York," she explained to Nik, finally forcing his attention from Kol. "I didn't mention that at dinner on Friday, did I? I don't want to bore you guys with something we've already talked about."

"Not to worry, Bonnie," Kol cut in smoothly. "My brother doesn't forget anything. If you've told him something once, he'll always remember. Right, Nik?"

"Absolutely, Kol," Nik said bitingly. He was irritated now. Kol was not only behaving irresponsibly, but he was being a prick. Bonnie had a ring on her finger and a fiancé at her side, so what the fuck was Kol doing? Did he not understand? Suddenly, he was furious. "Do you lot mind if I borrow Kol for a minute or two?"

"Er, not at all," Bonnie replied. "Actually, Jeremy, there's something I wanted to show you..."

Nik motioned towards the door with his head. Kol followed, and Henrik was left standing alone when Bonnie and Jeremy floated away.

"Why the hell does this always happen to me?" Henrik asked to no one in particular, watching as his brothers walked away. "Damn you all!"

He wanted to go see what they were going to talk about, but Nik looked furious, and Kol ashamed. His brothers were typically okay with letting him into the loop, but this didn't look like something he wanted to get in the middle of. The two of them stopped by the glass staircase in the living room, which he could see from his vantage point, but they were too far away for him to hear them.

"What are you doing?" a familiar voice asked. Henrik turned to see Caroline approaching him, a glass of orange juice in her hand. "Henrik, right?"

"Yeah, hi, Caroline," he replied, pointing to the drink in her hand. "You're the only one in this entire room not drinking champagne, you know that, right?"

She laughed. "I figured it would be a little insensitive to be drinking alcohol in front of someone who so desperately wants it but can't have it."

"Who says I can't have it?"

"As the adult standing next to you? Me."

"Touché," he said, grinning. "So why have you come to seek out conversation with an eighteen-year-old?"

Caroline shrugged. She didn't really know Henrik that well, which made him the only member of the Mikaelson family that she didn't have some sort of relationship with. It wasn't necessary, but he seemed like a good kid. From the looks of it, he had charmed the pants off of Bonnie earlier, and Caroline had only heard good things about him. He seemed interesting, and he looked lonely, so why _not _pursue a conversation?

She said none of those things, going for the cheeky route instead, eyes shining with mirth. "Maybe I just thought you were cute."

"...What?"

* * *

"Are you in love with Bonnie?" Nik blurted out as soon as Kol shut the door behind him. They were in one of the downstairs guest bedrooms, not too far from Karen's room, where both the girls were sleeping. Nik was too impatient to wait until brunch ended to have this conversation, but that didn't mean he wanted everyone to hear what Kol had to say.

"What the hell, Nik?" Kol snapped. "Are you being serious?"

"I am asking you a question, Kol, are you in love with Bonnie?"

"What does it matter to you?" Kol deflected. The truth was that he'd been asking himself that question for quite some time, and he still had no idea how to answer it. Bonnie was a really good friend of his, someone who he had struck up a friendship with despite them having nothing in common.

Well, they had Jeremy in common.

Jeremy was a good friend of Kol's, since Kol owned the bar that Jeremy had started frequenting after his shifts. That was the whole reason their entire group gathered at 21 Club most days. The kid worked his ass off at the hospital, and if the only time he had to spend with his friends and family was when he was unwinding at the bar after his shifts, they'd be there. Well, Elena and Katherine would be there, dragging the Salvatores and Mikaelsons with them. Bonnie and Caroline simply tagged along due to their decades-old friendships with the Gilbert sisters.

At no point during the ritual was Kol supposed to actually _fall _for Bonnie. It wouldn't even have been so bad if he knew what it was that he felt, but at the moment, all he knew was that he didn't like seeing Bonnie with Jeremy.

So, did he love her?

Well, he bloody hell didn't know, did he?

"Kol!"

"Why is this bothering you so much, Nik? I'm not going to do anything about it," Kol defended. It wasn't like Nik actually knew Bonnie, or cared about this. If anything, Nik should be consoling him right about now. If anyone knew what it felt like to lose the love of their life, it was Nik. Shouldn't this have been a bonding moment?

Not that Bonnie was the love of his life, Kol reminded himself.

"Do you know she's engaged?"

This was brand new information, Kol thought to himself, saying as much to his brother. "Really, Nik? I didn't know that. This is brand new information. Thank you so much for enlightening me."

"Stop being a smart-arse, Kol," Nik said, bringing his fist to his mouth. He couldn't stop pacing the room, but despite the fact that he was trying to work off his agitation, the anger was still radiating off of him in waves. Kol didn't understand what was happening at _all. _

"Why are you mad at me?"

"You can't- she's engaged- Kol, you can't do anything about this."

Oh, bloody hell no. Of course he wasn't going to do anything about this, he wasn't stupid. Bonnie was Jeremy's fiancée. She had chosen to go and spend the rest of her life as Jeremy's wife, without even giving Kol a second thought. Why would he try and ruin that for her, especially if she hadn't done anything to encourage him? He knew what kind of havoc he could cause, if he so chose. Nik didn't need to remind him what the consequences would be.

"You're projecting, Nik. But thank you for assuming that I would want to try and take my friend's fiancé from him, over feelings that I can't even label."

"What are you talking about?"

"You think that after everything you've been through, after everything I've seen you go through, you think I'd just go out and put someone else in that position? You think I want Bonnie to do to Jeremy what Tatia did to you? You think I want her to leave him for me?"

"Do you even know how you were looking at her, Kol?" Nik threw his hands up in the air. "As if she was all the birthday presents you were ever going to get for the rest of your life, all wrapped up in one."

"Because she is, Nik! But that doesn't matter! Yes, I do have some feelings for her. But she is happy, Nik. She's happy with him. I'm not going to just ruin that for her. She has him, why would she want me?"

"Kol," Nik said, instantly letting go of his anger. He heard the emotion hidden underneath Kol's bitter tone and he saw the look on his younger brother's face. How was he supposed to stay mad at his brother for something that was so clearly misunderstood? He reached out and put an arm on Kol's shoulder. "Shit, Kol, I'm sorry..."

"Yeah," Kol scoffed, shrugging away from Nik's hold. "You're always sorry. We allow you to say what you want, behave how you want, because something so terrible happened to you. But you know what, Nik? We went through it with you. It wasn't as bad for us as it was for you, obviously. You lost your wife. You lost her once when she died and then you lost her again when you found out about Patrick-something."

"I'm sorry, Kol, I just thought-"

"You're always thinking about Tatia, and how she cheated on you, and how no one can be trusted. But here's the thing, Nik. While you're off thinking about the fact that you lost Tatia five years ago, have you ever bothered to think about the fact that your family lost _you _five years ago?"

Nik felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "What?"

"You think that even after seeing you so broken, so damaged by your wife's adultery, that I would do unto someone what Patrick did to you. You forget that I know who you used to be, Nik, and this broken man who can't even bring up the courage to talk to that lovely blonde he finds attractive, well, he's just a sad excuse for who you used to be."

Lovely blonde?

Did he mean Caroline?

"I have not been making eyes at Caroline," Nik denied.

"Well you haven't been making eyes at anyone for five years, really," Kol ranted. He was quiet for a few moments before he started on a completely different subject. "And then you come in here and start spouting bullshit about Bonnie and her ring. Fuck off, Nik. Not only do you not want to make things better for yourself, you also want to go around making things worse for everyone else. Lovely, Nik, really."

It was time to tell Kol. This was neither the time nor the place where he'd wanted to bring up the news, but he'd said some things to Kol that wouldn't be forgotten or forgiven with just a simple apology. While he may have had issues with his late wife and her adultery, it didn't mean that he could take those feelings out on Kol. His brother was right; they had all been affected after Tatia's death, and he could see the differences in their lives. Kol had actually stopped with his one-night stands and meaningless flings. He'd started going after girls who actually had some intelligence; he'd cleaned up his act, and, with his business savvy, started a successful restaurant.

Elijah and Katherine had started to trust each other more, making it a point to actually _tell _each other how they felt. It was almost unheard of in the Mikaelson family, having a married couple actually indulge in PDA, but there were moments when Katherine would feel the need to remind everyone that Elijah was hers and only hers. While it made Nik uncomfortable, he understood where she was coming from.

Rebekah, too, had stopped giving her heart away so easily. She and Stefan had been together for nearly four years, with breaks every now and then, but Nik knew that his sister wasn't going to pressure the Salvatore into marriage. She was too scared that if she did, he'd end up deciding that he didn't want it at all.

Henrik was only one who seemed to have appeared unscathed from the emotional wreckage caused by Tatia. Ironic, really, _considering_ he was his brother's ward after being orphaned at nine. Henrik had already been through too much in his short life

So yes, Kol was right. Tatia's death had affected the rest of the family.

"Caroline's my therapist. I haven't been trying to work up the courage to chat her up; I've been trying to act normal around her. She doesn't like to be in the same social situations, because she claims that the lines get blurred," Nik said quietly, fists clenching and I clenching at his sides. Telling Henrik had been easy. Kol, however, was a wildcard, especially considering the circumstances.

Also, Rebekah was going to kill him for telling her last, since Finn didn't really count.

"Wait, what?"

"You said I'm not trying to help myself. I just wanted you to know that I am. And as for the rest of it, I am sorry that you feel like you lost your brother. But for the record, your brother lost himself," Nik said stonily. Tatia's death had affected his family, but it had affected him the most. They all seemed to want him to move on, but if they couldn't forget what she had done, then how could he? Kol argued that he remembered what Nik had been through, so why did he expect Nik himself to forget?

Without saying anything else, he wrenched open the door and left, leaving Kol behind to sit by himself in silence.

* * *

**A/N: **You guys have been so amazing and so generous with your love for this fic, I felt like I wasn't really doing anything for you. So, after I hit 200 reviews for this fic (eek!), I decided that I would hit you guys with a surprise update on Wednesday. Now, just in case you're wondering, this **isn'**t your usual weekly Saturday update. This is just a surprise, middle-of-the-week update that I wanted to give you guys for. It's my own personal hug to all of you, for all of your love.

In the next chapter, which will be up on **Monday**, there will be Klaroline. Sorry for the lack of it here. But I think you can forgive me this time, maybe? Also I changed my Tumblr URL. Again. Thanks to Dan (BrOTP Mean!), who gave it to me after I begged a whole lot because he's such a good friend, I am now _sassyklaroline_. So come follow me!

Now, if you don't know what to put in a review, then here's your review template!

_Dear Meha, _

_Thank you for surprise updating. I wasn't expecting it. (hence the surprise). _

_Stop changing your Tumblr URL, you are having a serious identity crisis. _

_I (liked/disliked) the Nik/Katherine interaction because:_

_I (liked/disliked) the Kat/Caro interaction because: _

_I (liked/disliked) the Caro/Henry interaction because: _

_I (liked/disliked) the (Kennett/Beremy) because: _

_I (liked/disliked) the Nik/Kol fight because: _

_Next time please include more of (insert your favorite character or ship). _

_Overall, I really (liked/disliked) this character because of: _

_Your name here. _


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **My apologies for not updating on Saturday _or _Monday, like I said I would.

Henrik doesn't die in this fic.

Kol, everywhere!

Thanks to my beta Briana for _everything, _and also thanks to Leonie, Meghan, Abby, and Mel for making graphics!

Happy reading (:

* * *

Caroline didn't realize that she'd been ignoring the Mikaelsons until Klaus walked into her office on Tuesday afternoon. It wasn't an intentional thing, but after the fight with Katherine, she'd subconsciously decided to stay away from any personal drama. As it was, her job was emotionally exhausting. She didn't need to bring up any residual anger around Katherine and start another fight.

Nik hung his suit jacket over the back of his chair as he sat down, rolling up the sleeves to his button-down in the process. Then he loosened his tie.

This was probably going to be a thing, his business clothing, she realized, since Katherine had mentioned that his typical workday ran from eight in the morning to eight in the evening. Last week, he'd come in around lunchtime Tuesday, but Friday had been after work.

"Are these going to be standing appointments now?" Caroline asked him as he put his iPhone into Do Not Disturb mode. "Do you want me to just schedule you in for every Tuesday and Friday for the next month?"

Klaus looked up, moving forward in his chair so he could slip his phone into his pocket. "Am I only going to _be_ in therapy for a month?"

Caroline paused. "Well, I think that depends on you."

"I see," he said, leaning back in his chair. He started to tap his fingers on the arms of his chair, like he'd done in the other sessions. This time, however, the rhythm was slow, almost calming. He wasn't frantically trying to sort through his emotions internally. He was slowly contemplating what his life would be like a month from now, so she let him think.

After a short, relatively comfortable silence, Caroline broached the topic again. "So, standing appointments?"

"I much prefer sitting down," he commented casually.

"...Did you just crack a joke?"

"Was I not allowed to?" Klaus asked, looking around the room. "Is this some sort of torture chamber where no fun can be had?"

"Being flippant doesn't really work with me," Caroline told him as she turned her attention back to her computer. Connor wasn't working today, and the new secretary they'd hired had gone on her lunch break. If Caroline didn't enter Klaus' appointments into the system herself right now, there was a good chance she'd forget to do it at all. Then she'd get booked up and he'd be left without sessions, which wouldn't be good at all. "Just so you know."

"I'm not being flippant, I was just trying to be casual."

"Okay, well I'm your therapist so you don't have to _try_ to be anything with me. You're allowed to just be yourself and tell me whatever it is that you're feeling."

"That's great advice, Caroline," Klaus nodded thoughtfully. She rolled her eyes slightly at the use of her first name, but didn't speak up against it. He'd reached a certain comfort level with her, and she couldn't make everything a battle. Sometimes, Caroline would just have to let the cards fall where they may.

"Thank you," she responded cautiously, unsure of how sincere he was being. This was a different Klaus that she was encountering, one that seemed entirely too wrapped up in his thoughts to realize how rude he was being. Usually, he _knew _he was being rude, but this? He didn't even realize it. "Now, I've entered you in for the next three weeks; after that, we can mutually decide how much longer you want to continue seeing me."

"How many sessions did Katherine and Elijah sign me up for?"

"Thirty, over the course of fifteen weeks. Honestly, though, it's up to you. If you feel that you're not comfortable with continuing or that you've gotten all you could out of therapy, then we'll discontinue sessions and they will get a full refund."

"Do you think you could give them a refund and just allow me to pay for my own sessions?"

"I- er, yeah, I guess we could do that. But why?"

There were a lot of reasons why. Since his fight with Kol on Sunday, he'd been thinking about his therapy sessions more than he thought he would. Kol had managed to put some things in perspective. Nik had automatically assumed something based off his own previous experiences, but, like Kol had rightly said, Tatia had cheating on him didn't mean that Kol was going to go after a woman who was already with someone. He really had stop relating everything in his life back to his ex-wife, but he needed help in order to do that.

Therapy wasn't going to be some magical experience that just took all of his pain away, but at least Caroline would be able to help him deal with his issues in a healthy way, right? If he was going to be dedicated to this, then why waste Elijah's money? His brother and Katherine had forced him onto this path of "healing", but that was already enough. They didn't have to actually pay for it, as well. He wasn't their responsibility, and it was time that he started taking care of himself.

"I feel like this could actually help me," Nik said quietly, averting his gaze. He didn't know why it was hard to admit to her what he'd already admitted to himself. "They did their part when they talked me into doing this, but it's not their job to make sure I keep coming. It's mine."

Caroline couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. This, right here, was why she loved her job. Since she'd started practicing, there had been patients who had to be convinced to come to therapy, whether by parents, friends, or other loved ones. However, at a certain point, they would all come to recognize how much they could actually overcome if they just had some help. Klaus was coming to terms with this much earlier than she'd estimated, but she couldn't say she was complaining. Now that he was open to talking, there were a lot of issues to work through.

"You mentioned last week that you allow your patients to set the pace, right?" Klaus asked, pulling her back from her thoughts. "They start talking to you depending on how much they trust you at a given point in time."

Caroline nodded. "Basically, yes. Why? How much do you trust me?"

"More than I thought I would," Nik responded. And it was true. He had a hard time trusting anyone, which was to be expected, but Caroline had done nothing but _try_ since he'd met her. Besides, her face was kind and her eyes were bright and she made it seem as if she was actually interested in hearing what he had to say. She obviously knew more about him than what he'd told her, but she had brought none of that up with him. There was also the fact that Katherine had vouched for her to consider. Katherine was fierce and protective of the ones that she loved. Some could consider his relationship with his sister-in-law turbulent, but he knew without a doubt that she always had his best interests at heart. If Katherine had vouched for Caroline, she believed, without a doubt, that Caroline was someone who he should trust and confide in. "Does that surprise you? That I trust you?"

"I try not to be surprised by my patients," Caroline told him. "I don't want them to feel like I'm expecting them to feel a certain way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, taking you for instance...When you're in my office, you are silent and subdued. You take great pains to monitor what you say and how you behave, except for, of course, your nervous ticks. Sometimes you get agitated, but more often than not, you say what you're comfortable sharing and then you shut down. Right?"

"Not necessarily," Nik countered, not really seeing her point. "I opened up to you about Tatia, didn't I? That goes against what I'd done before."

"Exactly," Caroline said enthusiastically, one arm reaching out toward him in emphasis of her excitement. "You shared with me something that I wasn't expecting you to share with me yet, and that went against what I knew of you so far. But I didn't act surprised, because that would mean that I never expected you to start sharing with me."

Confused, he put his finger up to interrupt her. "Hold on a moment. Let me get this straight. You didn't want me to think that _you thought _I was never going to share anything, so you acted completely unsurprised when I brought up my dead wife two sessions into therapy."

His tone was slightly acerbic, as if he couldn't believe what the hell was wrong with her. Obviously he didn't appreciate her methods, which was fine, but she wouldn't allow him to treat her like she was stupid. While therapy wasn't about who was in charge, Caroline had to assert her dominance. This push-and-pull dynamic they had was getting damn annoying, she thought to herself, and she'd only known him a week. Klaus was getting too comfortable with the knowledge that she wouldn't pry, but he had to learn that she was going to ask him difficult questions that he was going to be expected to answer.

"Klaus." Caroline met his gaze. "I don't need to explain my methods to you, okay? I just need you to trust me when I say that I have your best interests at heart. You are my patient, and you are here to talk to me about yourself and your issues. At no point in this am I going to be putting expectations on you."

Her tone was soft but firm, and Nik could tell that she was trying to tell him that she was in charge. He could understand that, considering she was his therapist, but what he couldn't understand how the conversation had even gotten to this point. "I think we're talking about two different things now," Nik pointed out. "And that's alright. It's also okay that you expect me to behave a certain way, Caroline, because that's what people do. They _expect_ things of each other."

"Did Kol not meet your expectations?" Caroline blurted out before she could help herself. Her eyes widened and she slipped both of her hands over her mouth as he stared at her in disbelief. She wasn't supposed to say anything, dammit! She was supposed to be unbiased and act as if she didn't know anything about his personal life at all. When she had spoken to Henrik at brunch, he had mentioned that his brothers had looked a little strained when they went off to go have their chat. She wasn't supposed to mention that to _Klaus, _though.

If he had fought with Kol, and that was a big if, considering how close the Mikaelsons were, then she had just committed a huge error. Then again, the Mikaelsons were extremely internal with their issues. It was entirely possible that Klaus had fought with Kol, and she had crossed her own line by mentioning it.

"I am so sorry," Caroline said slowly, blinking frantically, as if her eyes could apologize in Morse code. "I did not mean to bring that up, I swear. Henrik just said that he saw the two of you go off and talk about something internal, and you guys looked a little angry before I walked over there... I'm the last person who would want to try and-"

He clenched his arms. Despite the fact that he wanted to lash out at her for prying, the rational side of him told him that it wasn't her fault. It was due to the circumstances, Nik knew, it wasn't like Caroline was going out of her way to use his family to find out what he wasn't telling her. Henrik had been left alone and Caroline probably thought she was being nice by having a conversation with the teen. Besides, Henrik was an intelligent teenager with enough common sense to know what not to tell his brother's psychiatrist.

"Caroline, it's alright," Nik interrupted her, slowly exhaling. He uncurled his fists until his hands were flat against the arms of his chair. "It's fine. I knew what was going to happen if we met outside of the office, and if I remember correctly, I was the one who encouraged it."

"I'm really sorry," she said again.

"It's fine. Drop it, please," he said. "Actually, I did want to talk to you about something."

"By all means," Caroline said, folding her hands onto the desk in front of her.

"Right. Well, see, I _did_ have a fight with Kol."

"And it was a bad fight," she stated.

"How do you figure?"

"You guys are close," Caroline shrugged. "That kind of bond only comes with arguing a lot and getting over it. The fact that you're still thinking about it, though, means that this was something relatively big and you feel guilty about bringing it up with him, whatever _'it'_ was."

Klaus stared at her in confusion. "How do you possibly know all of that?"

"Kol called me and told me that he wanted me to take my job extremely seriously and make sure that I helped you overcome your issues, because you deserved better than what you have. He kind of implied that your talk on Sunday was bad enough that you were forced to tell him that you have a shrink."

"Oh, for _fuck's_ sake!"

"He was just trying to be a concerned brother and a good friend and he didn't say anything else. Neither did I," Caroline said, holding her hands out in front of her as she tried to calm Klaus down. Klaus had a very rational fear that her regular interaction with his family would cause some information to be revealed before he was comfortable, but as far as possible, she would try to avoid that. "I mean, I told him that I wasn't going to talk about you to him, but that was basically it."

"Everyone has this misconception that I don't want to trust anyone. That's not it, Caroline. My ability to trust has actually just _disintegrated_. When someone asks me to trust them, it's like I get this feeling in my bones to just run far, far away. I want to be able to give people the benefit of the doubt, and rationally I know that not everyone in this world is out to get me. But mentally...it's just hard to believe that people can be better, you know?"

"I know. And this leads back to your fight with Kol?"

"This leads back to my fight with Kol," Nik confirmed, slouching down in his chair. He rested his head on the back of his chair and gazed at the ceiling, a position that was becoming the norm for him when he spoke about difficult situations. He found that it was easier to pretend he was in the room alone, talking to himself, rather than think about the fact that there was an actual person sitting in front of him, someone who could remember everything he was saying and then use it against him later on. He fought the urge to run as he inhaled deeply before continuing. "My fight with Kol stems from my issues with Tatia."

This confused Caroline. Kol was his brother, someone who had a strong bond with Klaus. She didn't know much about their relationship individually, but she knew the family was, overall, closer than most. Still, any fight that Klaus had with Kol didn't have any rational connection to Tatia. Klaus' trust issues with the rest of the world stemmed from the fact that Tatia had wronged him, but he had no problems believing in his family.

What was the connection there?

Before she could ask, he'd effectively tabled that conversation by sitting up straight and looking her in the eye.

Klaus shook his head and ran a hand through his messy, dark blonde curls as he spoke, his words confirming her thoughts. "That's about enough emotional chit chat for today, I'm afraid."

Caroline bit her lip, deciding how to respond. Klaus was still slightly vulnerable, and she was sure that if she pressed a little bit harder, he'd start talking some more. He had made some serious progress today, though, and she didn't want to ruin this streak. If he was going to share a little at a time then so be it.

"You're killing me, you know that, right?" she teased him, letting the topic slide.

"I'll believe it when you're actually dead, Caroline," Klaus responded quickly, a small smile on his face. He seemed grateful for the change of topic. It was an expression of relief that she was familiar with, since most of her patients gave her some variation of that look after a particularly emotionally exhausting conversation with her.

"Damn it, and here I was, starting to think that you liked me just a little bit," she laughed, holding up the thumb and forefinger of her right hand with only an inch of space between them. She shook her head, curls bouncing against her neck. "Not even a little bit?"

"Maybe about half of that. Maybe."

"Aw, thanks, Klaus!"

* * *

Nik's talk with Caroline spurred him into calling Kol and persuading his younger brother into meeting him. Kol, luckily, was just as angered as Nik himself, and quickly agreed to meeting for lunch on Wednesday. Nik offered to let his brother choose the place, considering he'd been more horrible and less justified than Kol during their fight. Plus, Kol was a certified restaurateur. Nik figured that unless his brother was feeling particularly vindictive, they'd both be treated to great food. After all, nothing helped speed along the resolution to a feud between brothers like genuinely delicious food, right?

Kol clearly didn't think so, since he asked Nik to meet him at a hot dog cart outside Central Park, across the street from the Plaza Hotel. He was already there, hands shoved in the pockets of his black trench coat, when Nik arrived, twenty minutes past noon. There was a little bit of ketchup left over on his face, signaling that he had clearly already eaten. Either he'd missed a spot while he was wiping his face, or he'd purposely left some ketchup there as a telltale sign that he was snubbing his brother.

"Honestly, Kol?" Nik greeted crabbily, pulling out his wallet. He turned to the cart owner and placed his order, before turning back to his already impatient brother. "First you decide to meet me for lunch at a _hot_ _dog_ _cart_, and then you eat lunch before I get here just so you can piss me off."

Kol raised his eyebrows and put his forefinger in the air, directly in Nik's line of vision. "Please don't insult New York City's hot dog carts. Don't judge what you don't know, Nik."

"Fine," Nik said gruffly, reaching out to push Kol's finger down. "I just don't see why you couldn't wait for me before you ate. We were supposed to eat lunch _together_."

Kol shrugged unrepentantly. "I was hungry. What can I say?" He gave Nik a smile that wasn't really a smile, eyes glinting with anger and another, unidentifiable, emotion. "In case you didn't know, my anger at you isn't just going to go away if you buy me a hot dog. I'm not Henrik. Or Bekah."

"No, you're a little too tall to be the first and too _feminine_ to be the second," Klaus said, nodding to the cart owner as he took his hot dog. He slipped his wallet back into his pocket, and, ignoring Kol's impatient huff, bit into his lunch instead. He swallowed, commented to himself, "Too much relish. Bloody Americans," all the while still ignoring Kol.

"I don't think that's an American thing at all, actually. Maybe it's just you having another misconception about the world around you."

"Kol, I apologized to you already," Nik sighed. He had, hadn't he? As soon as he realized that he had misconstrued the entire scenario, he had apologized to Kol and confessed to seeing a shrink. He had practically bared his soul to his brother, and yet Kol was somehow still mad at him.

"It's funny how that isn't enough for me, isn't it? I mean, everyone always thought Bekah was the needy one," Kol said offhandedly. So offhandedly, in fact, that it took Nik a moment to realize that his brother was being self-deprecating. "In reality, it's me. _I'm_ the needy one. Can't be left out of the family, Kol, so go ask for financing from Mikaelson-Pierce. Can't be left out of the group, Kol, so invite all of Katherine's friends to hang out at _your _club. Don't want to be without love forever, Kol, so go ahead and fall for your best mate's girl."

"He's your best mate?" Nik asked in surprise. There was an age difference between his brother and Jeremy Gilbert, he knew, and the boy was a surgical resident. At this stage in Jeremy's career, he was practically married to his job, never mind the fiancée that Kol was half in love with. There was no time to establish friendships outside of his line of work.

"He's sure as hell not my worst mate," Kol answered, tilting his head toward Nik. "Right now that would be you."

Kol started walking away from Nik, towards one of the sidewalks that led into Central Park. He didn't wait for his brother to follow, but Nik did anyway. The conversation wasn't over. If anything, it had barely begun, and the two brothers needed to sort this out right now. Nik was _trying, _and he needed Kol to see that.

"Kol, wait!" Nik called out to his brother, walking rapidly to try and catch up. He closed the distance between them in a handful of seconds, Kol having stopped at the sound of his name, and reached out to put a hand on Kol's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"That's nice, Nik."

"I'm sorry for assuming things that weren't true."

Kol tilted his head to one side, an expression of indifference on his face. Nik knew this look. This look was the look that Nik had hated since he was seven-years old and tried to apologize to a then-four-year-old Kol for accidentally pushing him down the stairs. A simple apology hadn't worked then and it sure as hell wouldn't work now.

"You are a far better man than I will ever be," Nik said stiffly, forcing the words out. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground, just so he could avoid seeing the look of pure, unadulterated _joy _on Kol's face. The apology would be accepted, if only because it was the most genuine apology that Nik had ever given his younger brother.

"Thank you, Nik. And, also, how attractive am I?" Kol baited his brother.

"...Kol, honestly, you are about as attractive as Eddie Remayne or whatever his name is. Far too many freckles on your face to lure in any worthy female."

The insult didn't seem to faze Kol, who thought that Eddie Redmaynewas particularly handsome himself. He simply picked at a few pieces of non-existent lint on his trench coat as he responded to his brother, projecting an image of nonchalance. "Eddie _Redmayne, _you'll find, is actually quite attractive to the women."

"How many women do you talk to about celebrity males?" Nik asked incredulously. He motioned for his brother to start walking, which Kol did, and then followed. They started to make their way into the park, for once not caring where they'd end up. Maybe if they were lucky, they'd see the zoo, Nik thought. Kol would get to meet some of his kind.

Kol shrugged. "Karen, sometimes. You know, she's really quite precocious for a four-year-old, I don't think I was that intelligent at her age."

"I don't think you're that intelligent _now_."

Kol continued as if Nik hadn't spoken. "Bekah is very involved in the lives of celebrities, and you'd be surprised to know that it's a trait she shares with Katherine and Caroline, as well."

Nik perked up, instantly interested in the conversation. "You...talk to Caroline about stupid, insignificant things?"

"We're friends," Kol said seriously, the sarcastic tone disappearing from his voice. "She and I have a pretty decent relationship, I'd like to think. But, I think that apart from Rebekah and Katherine, she's closest to Stefan. I don't know what the history is there but Rebekah's okay with it, and I'm not particularly prone to drama. Don't like sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, you know?"

"No, of course not," Nik said easily, a small smile on his face. "I never actually thought of Caroline as a person, though."

"You're right. She does look very much like a robot."

"That's not what I meant, Kol," Nik said, rubbing his hand over his mouth as he contemplated how to explain his thought process. Caroline was his therapist, and while he'd thought she was beautiful when they'd first met, he had started to think of her as someone who was only around to help him. Rationally, he knew that she had a personal life. He knew she had friends, probably a loving family, things to do on a Friday night, but he hadn't realized that the people who made up her social circle were _his family_. She'd come to dinner on Friday night, but that was a much smaller group than the one present at brunch. Even though he'd seen her outside of the office a few times, he still saw her as _only_ his therapist. It struck him as odd to think that Kol was one of her friends. Speaking of...

"What did you mean?"

"You're her friend, and you're my brother. I only see Caroline as someone who I'm supposed to talk to, you know? She is someone who is supposed to help me, whereas you are someone that she's allowed to have fun with. She's paid to spend time listening to me drone on and on about my life, but she probably enjoys getting to hang out with you."

"Jealous, Nik?"

"Of course not," Nik brushed the accusation aside with a shake of his head. "I've already told you I don't have eyes for Caroline. My strange behavior on Sunday was attributed to the fact that-"

"She's your therapist, yes, whatever, but the fact of the matter is that she is a beautiful woman and I just don't want you to get distracted from what your purpose is."

"I know she's a beautiful woman, Kol. I've already told her that, but that's not the point- Wait, hold on, is that why you called her and told her to do her job properly or whatever bullshit it was that you spewed at her?"

"She told you about that?"

"Caroline and I are trying to establish rules to minimize the her intrusion into my private life."

"She's your shrink, Nik. I think it's safe to assume that she should be intruding _everything." _Then, realizing that his words held a double innuendo, Kol added hastily, "But don't actually _intrude_ her..."

"Oh, for God's sake, Kol!"

"You just said that you've already told her you think she's beautiful! Besides, the woman isn't blind. You're a Mikaelson, Nik, and we have very fortunately been blessed with some truly amazing genes. I mean, in all honesty, the two of you will probably fall into bed together at some point. Just don't, you know," Kol gestured wildly into the air in front of him. "Don't let it happen while you're her patient because then she'll hate you forever."

Nik didn't have to ask Kol to explain. Disregarding the fact that he didn't even want to sleep with Caroline, he knew that doing so while he was her patient would lead to her losing her license, blaming him for the fact, and then probably cutting off ties with everyone that they both mutually knew. He would be the first person on _everyone's _hit list, and life would be a bigger mess than it already was.

Having realized all of this, he kept silent as they continued walking throughout the maze of pathways within Central Park. Kol glanced at him once in a while, probably to see if it was safe to start a conversation, but neither of them spoke until they eventually ended up at the Central Park Zoo. Nik vaguely wondered how much time he'd spent out of the office at this point, under the guise of lunch break, but as Kol handed over two twenties to the lady at the ticket counter, he found that he didn't really care.

Kol accepted his two dollars in change, pocketed his wallet, and handed Nik one of the two tickets, gesturing to the entrance of the zoo. "Shall we return you to your home, brother?"

For the first time all day, Nik cracked a smile, thinking back to the similar thoughts he'd had about Kol as they'd been walking. "I was actually thinking that about you earlier," he said, slinging an arm around Kol's shoulder. "I figured maybe you'd find some of your kind here."

"Some of my kind _is _here, Nik. You," Kol said. With that, he smoothly slid out of Nik's hold and walked forward, hiding the smile on his face.

The siblings were all incredibly close with Henrik, who they had made a point to keep in contact with after their parents died. Rebekah, too, was close to all of her brothers. She reminded them every chance she got that she was their only sister, and, as such, should be treated with respect. They didn't give it to her, but they showered her with love nonetheless, albeit unconventionally, in the form of teasing her about her cases, her complicated relationship status, and the size of her reasonably spaced SoHo apartment.

His relationship with Nik, though, was complicated. They'd gotten along well enough when they were younger, but they'd grown apart once Nik had moved out to go to university. Later on, Kol had come to study in the US, eventually deciding to stay, but it was only after Tatia's death that the two brothers had actually tried to remedy their near-estrangement. Neither of them were used to talking about their feelings, but Kol figured that Nik was in therapy now. Having a psychiatrist meant that Nik would start opening up and letting go of some of his anger, but it was also supposed to lead to more communication between patients and the important people in their lives.

And damn it all to Hell and back, _he_ was one of the most important people in Nik's life.

"We've done quite a bit of sharing today, haven't we, Kol?"

"It's been a long time coming, brother. It's been a _long _time coming."

They walked through the park, talking aimlessly about stupid, insignificant things like how irritating Katherine was when the girls were sick, how fun it was to tease Henrik about the girls in the dorms, and the rapid increase in business that 21 Club was dealing with nowadays. Kol's success was purely his own at this point. He had paid off his investors, Mikaelson-Pierce, principal, interest, and all, and was now reaping in the benefits of being a successful restaurateur and club owner. Their conversation eventually circled back around to women, two in particular. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep with Caroline?"

Nik, with growing irritation, growled in response. "Yes, Kol, I do not want to sleep with my therapist."

"Ah, but see, that's not what I asked. I asked you if you wanted to sleep with _Caroline, _not your therapist."

"They are one and the same!"

"No, they're not. Caroline is an actual person with feelings, hopes, goals, and dreams. She has a life, she has friends, and she even has family who really cares about her. Also, she has really nice legs."

Uncomfortable with both the topic and the amount of fun Kol was having at his expense, Nik swiftly changed the subject by probably using the most awkward segue of his life. "Do you want to sleep with Bonnie, then? Is that how those feelings started?"

Instantly, Kol grew serious. He bowed his head slightly and shook a finger in front of Nik's face, indicating that he wasn't going to talk about that subject. He'd walked into that trap three days ago at Sunday brunch, and that wasn't a mistake he was willing to commit again.

"We're not talking about Bonnie," Kol said, his tone final. His jaw clenched and he exhaled deeply, effectively shutting himself off.

Nik couldn't help but wonder if this was how he behaved in his sessions with Caroline when she brought up Tatia. It was frustrating, he thought, to have the person you were talking to completely shut you out because they didn't trust you enough to tell you. He could finally understand where Caroline's anger was coming from, but he felt partly justified in his own actions, considering that Caroline had been a perfect stranger to him before he'd walked into her office, disregarding their brief, awkward, meeting at the club that night. Kol, on the other hand, was his brother, his own flesh and blood. Trust issues should not be a problem here.

And yet they had been on Sunday when he had accused Kol of starting something with an unavailable woman.

Caroline had asked him yesterday whether Kol had met his expectations or not. Truth was, Kol _had. _Kol had exceeded expectations, Nik thought, when he had rightly pointed out that loving someone, or, at least, feeling whatever the hell he did for Bonnie, didn't mean that you knew what was best for them. That _Kol_ had even managed to think like that was impressive.

Just as he opened his mouth to say as much, however, he saw a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Bonnie, surrounded, presumably, by a group of her students, was standing in front of the Sea Lion Pool. Kol hadn't seen her yet, he was too busy fiddling with his phone, but Nik nudged his brother just as Bonnie looked up and saw them. She muttered something to her students before starting to walk their way.

Kol froze when he saw Bonnie walking towards them, turning to his brother with wide eyes and a confused expression. "What the fuck do I even say?"

"I dunno, something that doesn't let her know that you're in love with her?"

"I am not in love with her," Kol whispered furiously through barely moving lips, resisting the urge to stomp on Nik's foot when Bonnie was only five feet away.

Nik ignored him, choosing to greet the approaching object of Kol's affections instead. "Hello, Bonnie."

"Klaus," she said with a small smile, nodding her head at him. "Kol."

"Bonnie! I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"Oh, yeah," she shrugged, biting her lip. "The professor who was supposed to take his class on this little field trip fell sick, so they asked the department to provide a sub. I don't have any lectures on Wednesday, so I was the most obvious choice."

"Why didn't they just cancel?" Nik asked, gazing over the group of rowdy teenagers. Most of them were fiddling with iPhones or humming along to the music they were listening to, but none of them actually looked interested. "I don't really think any of them are paying attention."

"They have their first exam based on the information they've learned on this little foray into the real world," Bonnie explained. "It's a freshman zoology class. The zoo was really good at giving us discounted tickets, so..."

Nik would hardly consider a foray to the Central Park Zoo an experience in the 'real world', whatever that meant, but he couldn't say that for fear of another fight with Kol. Contrary to the image he projected, he did actually care about his family, and he much preferred being on good terms with them to fighting over emotionally exhausting issues.

He watched Kol and Bonnie talk for another few minutes before realizing something, and made a feeble excuse to the two of them before walking a few feet away. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he walked. Katherine picked up within three rings and dove into conversation without even saying hello.

"Do you realize that you've been out of the office for three and a half hours on lunch break?" she didn't wait for him to respond before continuing so quickly that he wondered how she had time to even breathe. "You are so lucky that I was in a meeting until five minutes ago, because I called your office the second I got out and your assistant told me you weren't in yet, and I was _furious. _I have literally held off on calling you because I didn't want to start ranting the moment you picked up the phone, but this is ridiculous, Nik, not to mention _completely_ unlike you."

"I-sorry, I went on a lunch break with Kol."

"I don't even fucking care, you do that on your own time, okay, not on my time. If I had known...I swear to God, Nik, you better get your ass back to the office in ten minutes or I will come after you."

"Katherine, can you just hold on a moment, alright? We are equals, so you can't talk to me like this. Furthermore, I do my job and I do it damn well, so don't you dare even _insinuate _that-"

"No more two hour lunch breaks," Katherine interrupted him, her voice stony. "You get an hour every day for lunch, except on Tuesday. You're going to have to clear your sessions with Caroline through Human Resources. You can file it under Medical Leave, yeah? They won't particularly care, as long as you work your regular schedules the rest of the time. Since psychiatry isn't covered under the company health plan, it's out-of-pocket, which means HR can't do shit."

"Stop bulldozing me, Katherine," Nik said. "I can appreciate your position in a corporate setting, but I actually wanted to talk to my sister-in-law right now."

She was silent for a few moments, during which Nik looked around the open area and fixated his gaze at Kol and Bonnie. They were still chatting, and the dark-haired woman was laughing at something his brother said. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach that had less to do with Kol than it did Bonnie. It was fine that the two of them were friends, but Kol was being blinded by his feelings, whatever they were, and Bonnie didn't seem to be helping matters by stringing him along. Whether it was intentional or not, he didn't know, but Kol was his younger brother.

Family above all.

Katherine was thinking along the same lines, apparently, since she sighed and softened the tone of her voice. "Okay, what did you call me for?"

"I want Caroline's number."

"Oh, God, no," she laughed. "Did you not learn your lesson the last time?"

"The last time was a blatant manipulation," Nik justified, shaking his head. "This is different."

"To you, maybe. First of all, I don't even know if she thinks that you should have her number. Second of all, maybe she needs to give it to you herself with instructions regarding when it's even okay for you to call her. Third of all, the last time, she told me, none too kindly, that I was enabling you and getting in the way of your doctor-patient relationship. She accused me of choosing you over her, and I don't really want to have another fight with Caroline just because you asked me for a favor and I gave in. So no, I'm not giving you her number. Wait until your next session and then talk to the professional herself!"

"Katherine," he reasoned. "Come on, just give it. I need to tell her something, she's not going to object to my actually opening up and _wanting _to talk to her."

This talk with Kol had been a big wake-up call, and he wanted to get Caroline's opinion about what it meant. She seemed to know what she was talking about up until now, so there was no reason not to trust her judgment.

"No can do, Klaus. Also, your timer starts now, so if I were you, I'd catch a subway in the next three minutes and get the hell back to work."

Having said her piece, Katherine hung up without another word, leaving Nik to stare at his phone in disbelief.

Nik knew she always behaved differently with family during business hours, she had warned him, but this was ridiculous. Either way, though, he had to get back to work. He quickly sent a text to Kol explaining the situation before literally running down the pathway to the closest park entrance. He found the nearest subway station in three minutes, but it took him another eight to figure out which train to take and where to get off. By the time he got back to the office, another half an hour had passed.

He figured it would probably be a good idea to memorize a map of Manhattan sometime this weekend.

* * *

**A/N: **Someone asked me if Henrik was going to die in this fic. Nope. No one else is going to die in this fic. Tatia, Esther, and Mikael already have, but that's it.

I hope none of you thought that Kol was too OOC. In the show, I know his interesting/intelligent side has only surfaced in the past three episodes, but I always figured that Kol was a little more intelligent than his siblings let on. Due to the events of 4x12, I shall be writing a lot more of Kol in this fic because you know what, I want to. And it'll fit into the storyline, too, I promise.

Thank you all for all of your wonderful support. I warn you that school starts this Monday and I am one of those obnoxious people who finds Bs unacceptable. Plus, I'm at a community college so I'm extremely worried about transferring to a four-year. This fic will still be a priority, it just won't be as important to me as it was during my six weeks of winter holiday. If, at any point, the Saturday updates stop, I'll warn you guys beforehand, I promise. Just in case, follow me on Tumblr. I am_ **sassyklaroline,**_ and sometimes I liveblog when I write rofl.

Special thanks to plainmyths on Tumblr who reviewed all seven chapters of Therapy yesterday and brought up my review count because she wanted to do something nice for me after that episode. Vivian is awesome, guys! Go welcome her to fandom.

Abby, there will be some Henrik/Caro next chapter, just for you.

Tanya said my review templates were asking too much of you guys, so I'm gonna try and simplify. Sorry for having to read through my horribly long Author's Notes.

_Dear Meha, _

_Why the hell did it take you so long to update? You're supposed to update on Saturdays!_

_The Klaroline was (boring/eh/ehhhhh/eh eh eh/okay/not half-bad/good/really good). _

_Your Kol characterization was (spot-on/puh-lease that is the opposite of Kol) (and/but) I (liked/hated/didn't care about) reading about him. I can't believe what happened in that episode, (since/even though) I (love/hate) Kol._

_Poor Klaus._

_Oh look, Kennett!_

_Yay, Katherine._

_GIVE US MORE KLAROLINE, WOMAN! _

_Your Name. _


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you guys for being so patient. Sorry for the long wait. School is really hectic and time-consuming.

Much love to Briana, without whom I would not be able to write this fic. She's amazing.

* * *

The thing about having a weekly lunch with five successful, independent, career women was that there was rarely a week when all five of them actually showed up. Most times, having lunch together was decided by Caroline or Katherine sending a mass text to the others asking if they were free on that particular day, and then someone said no. That was okay, considering that they saw each other all the time anyway, but weekly lunch was a time of the week when the five of them could, theoretically, get together without any males getting in the way.

Caroline, Katherine, and Bonnie had already been at Blue Water Grill for half an hour when Rebekah arrived. Elena had excused herself by saying that she'd been hit with inspiration that morning, and, as such, would be holed up at home writing all day. Since they were hungry, they'd ordered for themselves and Rebekah, who showed up just after the waiter served them. By this point, Caroline was already on her second drink.

"Hel_lo_," Rebekah said as she climbed the stairs toward them. "I brought someone, I hope you don't mind."

Her youngest brother appeared behind her, hands stuffed in the pockets of his blue American Apparel hoodie. It matched his eyes, and the white lining that was turned outward was almost the color of his teeth, which Caroline could see clearly when Henrik flashed them all a smile. "Why are you apologizing, Bekah? By bringing me, you just made this endeavor actually _fun _for everyone_._"

"Don't make me regret bringing you, Henry," Rebekah warned, taking the open seat next to Bonnie. Since they'd planned on being a group of four today, Henrik, a surprise addition, was left without a seat.

"Regret spending time with your youngest, most charming brother, who loves you more than anyone? You would _never_."

Caroline watched as Rebekah tried to hide her smile. Henrik's words were clearly true. The Mikaelsons weren't all talk when they said "Family Above All." They genuinely meant it.

Henrik looked around for waiters before grabbing a plush chair from neighboring table. He dragged it to the corner between his sister and Caroline, ignoring the latter's shocked look when he took his seat.

"We can just get a bigger table," she told him. "You know that, right?"

"Why, Caroline?" Henrik asked her with a cheeky grin. "Don't you like sitting this close to me?"

"Oh, my God, Henry, she is a decade older than you!" Rebekah said loudly. "Can you _not _flirtwithher?"

Her brother shrugged in response. "She flirted with me first," he said, glancing at Caroline. The look on his face reminded her of the main character from that new Rapunzel movie that Savannah loved so much. "I'm pretty sure she enjoys this."

Katherine almost spit out a mouthful of her drink as she looked at Caroline. Luckily for the blonde and her new dress, she didn't. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Caroline said, waving her hand in the air. "He's just being silly."

Henrik sighed. "Some women just can't handle all of this."

Caroline scoffed. "Oh, please, child, don't."

"You two are really comfortable with each other," Bonnie pointed out. "Why? It's weird."

"My brothers ditched me to go argue about something stupid at brunch on Sunday," Henrik said. "Caroline noticed that I was standing awkwardly by myself, so we started talking. We spent a good twenty minutes discussing our mutual likes and dislikes, _and_ we had a very detailed discussion about pancake syrup."

"All thanks to you." Caroline picked up where Henrik left off, resting her chin on her shoulder to look at Katherine. "You were very thorough with your brunch preparations."

Her best friend shot her a winning smile. "Yes, well, if you're going to do something, do it well."

"Mikaelson family motto," Henrik said. "Or one of them, anyway."

"Why is he here?" Bonnie pointed her thumb at Henrik.

"You are very unhappy to see my today, aren't you, Bonnie?" He looked between his sister and sister-in-law, gauging their reactions. "Rebekah didn't want to cancel on me _or_ you lot, so she brought me _to_ you lot because she couldn't choose. _I_, however, am insulted that you don't want me here."

"You know that's not what I meant," Bonnie fixed him with a stare. "We're actually going to start planning my wedding today, Henrik, and as an eighteen-year-old boy, you may not be interested."

"Oh."

"Thought so."

"I'm so excited for this, Bonnie," Katherine said as she reached across the table to lay her hand on top of Bonnie's, completely ignoring the scowl forming on Henrik's face. "You're marrying my brother. Oh, my God, this is just- _Oh_, I am so happy for you. We're going to be related!"

"And yet another one joins the ranks," Caroline joked.

Still, there was more than a grain of truth in her words. Almost everyone that she was close to was related to Katherine in some way, except Stefan. But then, Stefan didn't really count, since everyone knew that he and Rebekah were going to tie the knot someday soon. It seemed that not only was she the only one in the group not related to everyone else somehow, she was also the only one who was single.

Wait no, Klaus and Kol are both single, she thought to herself. And Klaus' situation also sucked more than hers.

Dead, cheating wife. Trust issues. Daddy issues. Brother issues. Issues, issues, issues, God, the word itself was starting to sound odd in her head.

He was an interesting man, she had to admit, with a broken past. He had a loving family now, but there was so much more under the surface, and she was just itching to find out.

Then again, how deep did his pain go?

The man had had his heart torn out by his wife, and knowing what Caroline knew about him, marriage wasn't something that he took lightly. Just thinking about all of the pain he was feeling made her heart ache for him. Maybe he was her patient, and maybe she was supposed to remain unbiased, but she was only human after all. Not everything could be compartmentalized. She was allowed to feel grateful that she hadn't gone through what he had, and she was sure as hell allowed to feel sympathetic.

He reminded her that very few people were lucky enough to have a life like hers. She had great friends who were always there for her, a family who loved her, and a blossoming career in a profession that she was genuinely passionate about. The only thing that she would complain about was her lack of a love life, but even then, she was lucky. Klaus' lack of a love life was up to him in that he could overcome his issues and start putting himself out there again, but he was emotionally scarred.

She wasn't. This version that she was presenting to the world, it was the best version of herself. She loved herself, and she believed she could have it all, the husband and the career and the kids and the expansive Manhattan apartment.

And, okay, it wasn't like she _needed_ a husband, not in _that _sense. Caroline didn't need a man to take care of her and provide for her, she could do that well enough on her own, thank you very much. What she wanted was that smile that Katherine had, when she spoke about Elijah and the girls. She wanted to have someone to come home to, someone to wake up to, and someone to build a future with.

And even though marriage was a lot more than small things like fighting over the remote and arguing who had to tell the kids where babies came from, well, she wanted those things to. She wanted all of it, even the fights that would go on for hours.

But wasn't that what love was? Even when you're fighting with the one you love, you know that it's _them _you want to fight with for the rest of your life, and only them.

What was life without a little flavor?

She could have had it, it wasn't too far out of reach. Matt had started hinting at it, bringing up a future and kids and playing with the ring finger on her left hand. Even Tyler before him, but she hadn't felt that _spark _she knew she was supposed to feel. She wanted it now, but those were temporary feelings, brought up full force by the sight of Bonnie's shiny new ring.

"What are you thinking about, Caroline?" Katherine's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "You're staring at your drink like it's the most interesting thing in the world."

"No, no," Caroline said as she shook her head, pushing back her hair. "Nothing, just um...You know, I'm the only woman here who isn't related to you."

Henrik smiled at her response. Oh this was too easy, he thought. It was like she was practically asking for it. "Nik's single," he supplied helpfully. "You could always marry him."

Katherine stepped on his left foot under the table, and he had to school his features into a smile to pretend like it didn't hurt. She ignored his obvious amusement at the thought of Nik and Caroline together, clearly not in agreement. "There's always Kol," she said casually, going along with the joke.

Because that's what it had to be, a joke.

"No, not Kol," Bonnie blurted out. Her eyes widened almost as soon as she realized what she'd said, and she awkwardly tried to explain herself. "I mean, Kol and Caroline, you know? They've been friends for...well, a really long time. It would be weird, wouldn't it? I mean, can you imagine? Kol and Caroline?"

Caroline, confused by Bonnie's sudden awkwardness, gave her friends an awkward smile. "Um, I don't plan on marrying any Mikaelsons, or _anyone_ actually, any time soon."

"Only joking," Henrik replied, trying to nudge his elbow in her side. She evaded his blow and stepped on his right foot, not knowing that this left him with two sets of crushed toes. This time, he did grimace. "Bloody hell, woman."

Rebekah, who had said nothing throughout this whole ordeal, ate her lobster bisque in silence. She took a slice of bread and a packet of butter from the wicker basket in the center of the table, spread some butter onto the bread, and then bit into it. A loud crunch emanated from the contact between her teeth and the bread, distracting her table-mates from their conversation. In unison, they all turned to look at her.

"What?" she asked up at them, mouth nearly full. She put her hand over her mouth and chewed some more before swallowing and saying, "Why is everyone looking at me? We should be judging Caroline, her voluntary spinster-ness is quite confusing."

"I'm not voluntarily- ugh, Rebekah. It's just...It's _just_-"

"It's just _what? _Too scared to get back in the dating pool after Matty Donovan asked you to be his forever?"

"Wait you were engaged?" Henrik interjected. "Why aren't you now?"

"I was never engaged," Caroline told him before turning back to the group. "Guys, I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad, I do," Henrik said eagerly, clapping his hands as he leaned forward. "Storytime!"

"She doesn't want to talk about it, Henry, stop it."

"No, no, I know what I'm doing, Katherine. how do you think I get Nik to talk to me?"

"He's your brother, it shouldn't be that hard," Caroline dismissed him with a shake of her head before turning her attention back to her food. Henrik didn't let her be, though, as he continuously poked her shoulder with his forefinger while everyone else enjoyed their meals.

It took her about three minutes to crack. "You're acting like a four-year-old."

"I know, I learned this from Karen."

"_Karen_ does not behave like this."

"She does around me. I'm the fun uncle."

"So is Jeremy," Bonnie cut in with a smile. "She loves bothering him about stuff and he loves playing along."

"See!" Henrik said approvingly, turning from Bonnie to Caroline. "Being annoying works. Now share your life story, Caroline. Come on, you know you want to." He kept staring at her, chin tucked in, amusement in his eyes. He looked so eager that she couldn't resist. Against her better judgment, she started talking.

"Fine! I spent four years in a relationship with Tyler, and then I was single for less than a year before Matt and I got together, and we spent _another_ four years together... Basically, I've spent eighty percent of the last decade of my life in a relationship with someone. I kind of want to take some time for _me_."

Luckily for her, Rebekah's phone started ringing then, sparing Caroline from having to answer any more of Henrik's questions.

"Hello? Yes, this is she. Yes. Yes. No, that wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow. No, I know this because I called his lawyer an hour ago and- oh are you bloody joking?" Rebekah said furiously. She looked up at everyone apologetically as she pushed up her chair and stuck her phone between her shoulder and her ear. As she picked up all of her belongings and downed the last of her bisque, she hummed sounds of agreement. "Fine, I'll be there in twenty. _Don't_ leave without me."

"Are you leaving, Bekah?" Henrik asked unnecessarily.

"Yes, I'm sorry," she sighed. "There's a thing at work. I know we said that today was going to be just us, but-"

"It's fine, Bekah," he said quietly, waving his hand. He was half-smiling, the right side of his mouth tugged upwards, but Caroline could see that his sister's sudden departure had brought down his mood.

As Rebekah left, Caroline irritation faded and she felt the need to cheer up the teen. Katherine and Bonnie had started discussing the wedding again, Bonnie's awkward outburst about Kol forgotten, but Henrik was starting to grow on Caroline. She couldn't help but want to make him smile up again.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"Just wondering."

"You wonder strange things, Caroline."

"Oh, I don't know. It's part of my charm."

"I'm sorry for bothering you earlier. It wasn't any of my concern, I shouldn't have pried."

"It's okay. You were curious, I was hedging. If I was in your position, I'd have done the same thing."

"You _are_ in my position. With my brother."

"That's different," she said to him, her voice low. "He's my patient. I can't goad him into telling me things."

"So don't goad him. Just show some emotion and he will respond in kind, and before you know it, he'll be telling you everything he wants to keep locked inside."

"I doubt that. How is it that your brother is so," she paused, thinking of a word to describe Klaus. "Stoic, and yet you are the opposite of that?"

"Nik?" Henrik asked in surprise. "Nik's not stoic. He has control issues, maybe. He can come off as kind of stiff initially, but my brother is one charming man. He's also very funny. His personality rubbed off on me, what can you do?"

"What?" Caroline asked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, you spend a lot of time around someone, and you know, you get close. You start acting like them. Especially when it's an older sibling, someone you want to look up to. I dunno, Nik's always been someone I look up to. He's really great in most social situations, he's funny, he's charming, he's attractive-"

"You sound like you're typing out his bio for the eHarmony website."

"Oh, I'm not opposed to him dating," Henrik pointed out. "_He_ is. But that's not the point, he's my older brother. I think he's great. Why wouldn't I want to be just like him?"

Henrik's enthusiasm about his older brother made her think of Savannah, and how cheery the eight-year-old girl was in Caroline's presence. Did her younger sister feel the same way about her that Henrik felt about Klaus?

Tough call, considering the Mikaelson brothers had a lot more history together. Still, Savannah was only eight; there were lots of opportunities for bonding yet.

When Bill and Liz Forbes had separated fifteen years ago, she'd been devastated. Her father had assured her that none of it was her fault, that there was nothing she could have done differently, but she had always wondered. She had always felt inadequate after that, and most of her success today could be attributed to her father's leaving.

He had found found Stephen within a year and a half, and they'd been married soon after. It had taken her a while to come around to the idea that her father wasn't going to come back, but after Stephen had officially become her stepfather, she found herself liking the older man more and more. The few weeks in the summer that she stayed with her father became enjoyable, weekends visiting became time to look forward to. It wasn't a perfect family, but it had come really close to that in her eyes when the two men had adopted Savannah six years ago. She'd been a precious little two year old with chubby cheeks and a small vocabulary, full of light and life, traits that her father said both his daughters had in common.

Despite the fact that the distance wasn't too far, she didn't often have the time to make it out to Jersey. She missed her sister. She loved Savannah.

"You have a sibling?" Henrik guessed correctly, watching the emotions flit across her face. It wasn't that hard of a conclusion to arrive to, considering they'd just been talking about his relationship with his brother. Caroline had the look on her face that Bekah always got when the two of them used to Skype back when he still lived in London, like it was to enough to just see that he was happy, she had to go and do something herself to ensure his every happiness.

"A younger sister."

"How old is she?"

"She's eight. She's adorable, and I love her, but she's a handful. Too smart for her own good."

"She's _eight? _Christ, and I thought I was an accident."

Caroline couldn't help but laugh. "My dad and his partner adopted her six years ago, when she was two. She is precious, and I love her so much... She's practically the light of Stephen's life."

"You're not jealous?"

"Why should I be? I have a great relationship with my dad, and it's not going anywhere. It's not dependent on Savannah. It's just between me and him, you know?"

Henrik shrugged, looking up at Katherine. Across the table, she and Bonnie had put their heads together and pulled out some bridal magazines, empty plates pushed away. They didn't seem to be paying attention to anything that Henrik or Caroline were saying. "Not really. I was nine when my parents passed away. All I can remember is that er, Mum, she would bake me cookies sometimes, when someone was coming home. I remember Dad asking me about my grades and school and homework. But I don't really think I had a relationship with either one of them. That doesn't come until you hit, like, twelve."

She stared at him, eyes full of emotion, seeing for the first time just how deep Henrik's thought process went. This kid in front of her had been through so much. Losing his parents, living with his brother, suffering the loss of a sister-in-law that he lived with. She didn't know his parents or how they behaved with him, but they'd done a good job with him. So had Klaus, for that matter. The man may have issues himself, but he'd clearly gone out of his way to make sure that Henrik grew up stable and healthy. She'd seen so many different sides of the boy already, from the charming Brit to the wise-beyond-his-years teenager. If he was as intelligent as he seemed, there was no doubt as to how he'd earned his successes.

Some day, some lucky girl was going to be swept right off her feet by this boy. He was just- he was _just..._

"I don't even have any words for you," she told him with a soft smile. "I think that you are unlike any other teenager I've ever met, and I'm really glad that I know you. But, just in case you ever need someone to talk to, let me give you my card."

She started to go through her purse, but Henrik put out his hand to stop her. "I'm fine, Caroline, honestly. Nik's the one that needs therapy, not me. We all have issues, you know? We've kind of accepted that the entire family is basically fucked up. But as tempting as it may be for you, you can't fix all the Mikaelsons."

"Henrik, that isn't what I meant..."

"Not all of us need to be fixed, Caroline."

* * *

"So, I talked to Kol," Klaus said in lieu of a greeting, dropping into his seat. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his thighs, and looked up at her with a smile. It was unusual behavior, to say the least, but she was glad to see that he was actually starting to show some interest in therapy without being prompted.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"My brother is far more mature and responsible than I give him credit for."

"Yes he is," Caroline agreed. Everyone underestimated Kol because he was so snarky and witty all the time, but they forgot that underneath that attitude, there was a very perceptive brain. Kol didn't manage to build a successful business and reputation solely with luck. He put in a lot of hard work, constructed a careful strategy, and got the job done. He was her friend, and she was proud of him. "He can be annoying, at times, but he's someone you would want on your side."

"Well, he wasn't exactly on my side before we had lunch together on Wednesday."

"I'm sure that's not true," she said, dismissing the notion with a shake of her head. If there was one thing she knew about the Mikaelson family- and she knew a lot of things about the Mikaelson family- it was that they kept family above everyone else. As brothers, Kol would want whatever was best for Klaus, she believed that without a doubt. "Maybe you just weren't used to tough love."

"Okay, no, it's not," Klaus agreed. "Kol was very understanding, but my issue doesn't really lie with what he and I spoke about on Wednesday. It's about something he said to me during our original fight."

"And what might that be?"

"He said... He said that I never considered the possibility that Tatia's death affected my family, as well. Kol told me that I never realized that when I lost my wife, five years ago, my family lost _me."_

"Oh."

He didn't really know what to think. When Kol had initially told him this, he'd been hurt, sympathetic, understanding even. And then, after those initial emotions had faded, he felt angry, so, so angry at the fact that his family wanted him to see things from their perspective. Why should he? He had his own pain to deal with. He had his own loss to deal with. Why was he supposed to focus on how Tatia's death had affected everyone else?

"It's not fair," Nik told Caroline. He met her gaze full-on, just so that she could see her reaction. He was disappointed with what he got, however, since she simply raised one eyebrow and tilted her head to the side, looking at him coolly. "What? It's not fair. Why am I supposed to be bothered about how Kol's feeling about any of this? They've all moved on with their lives. They're happy and they have things to live for, and meanwhile, I'm stuck here and everyone's moving on without me, and what is the fucking point? Honestly-"

"I don't do pity parties," Caroline interrupted coolly. "If you want to actually talk about these feelings, if you want to ask my opinion and figure out why you're feeling them, maybe even try to see things from your brother's perspective, that's fine. I can help you with that. But you throwing a tantrum in my office, I can't help you with. I'm sorry."

Her behavior angered him further. "Kol claims that he and my siblings all have issues as well, that I wasn't the only one affected by the behavior of my dead wife and probably even the behavior of my parents, too, so why is it that if they're just as fucked up as I am, why am I the one who has to talk to a therapist about it? I don't see the rest of my family spilling their life stories to strangers who are paid to listen."

Caroline blinked. While she was taken aback by the amount of honesty in his words, she had also hoped that maybe when they got to this point, his thoughts would be a little more coherent and his tone a little less _rude_. "Well, that's up to them."

"I'm not here of my own volition, Caroline," Klaus said, tapping his pointer finger on the arm of the chair. The heel of his right foot, too, had a rhythm of its own as it went up and down.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked with surprise. It was the first time in this session that she had actually betrayed her own emotions, and, Nik noted, there was more than surprise in her tone. Unless he was mistaken, there was also a little bit of hurt.

She wasn't a robot, he reminded himself, thinking back to his conversation with Kol. She was a human being who had family, friends, and a life outside of this office. She had emotions, just like him, and she'd been nothing but patient and understanding while listening to him talk in his sessions. Caroline didn't deserve to be the punching bag he used to relieve his anger.

Instantly, he felt guilty. "You're right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Caroline looked at him expectantly when he trailed off, wanting him to finish the rest of his sentence. She wasn't going to just let him off that easily. He was going to have to apologize to her, and he was going to have to mean it. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice cordial. "As _I_ recall, _you_ were the one that showed up early for sessions that were scheduled on _your_ time at _your_ request. And, on Tuesday, you even said you wanted to take responsibility for your healing process and start paying for sessions yourself," she pointed out calmly, trying to refrain from rolling her eyes at him. Anger was the least helpful emotion that she could be displaying right now, and, as her patient, Klaus didn't deserve it.

Even if she thought he was being extremely irritating by retreating into his shell and acting like a child, she couldn't tell him that. Those were personal thoughts, and they had no place in the office.

"I said I was sorry, and I meant it."

"I have no doubt that you meant your apology, Klaus, but that doesn't mean that I have to accept it."

"I didn't mean to vent all of my anger to you. It should have been directed to my family and, _what_, Caroline?" Nik had stopped talking when he saw the look on her face change into outright irritation. Caroline rubbed her face with her hands before massaging her temples. "Wonderful, now you have something to say as well."

"You just... Klaus, do you want to work with me? Do you want to overcome your issues and start healing and get rid of some of this perpetual anger you have?" Caroline asked, gesturing to him. "I mean, you say you want to talk to me about your past and the way it's affected you, and in your defense, you do. I get that it's hard to talk about, Klaus, but I can't help you until you decide that you're not going to just shut down every time I ask you a hard question."

"I do not shut down every time you ask me a difficult question!" Klaus protested loudly, extending an arm towards her in anger. "I cooperate, Caroline."

"You're not supposed to _cooperate_ with me, Klaus. These sessions are supposed to be about you," she blurted out angrily. She took a deep breath for composure, internally berating herself for showing as much emotion as she had during this session. Henrik had given her advice, but he was an eighteen-year-old college student. She didn't want to take him up on it, but there was nothing she could do at this point. It was unusual for her to lose her cool during business hours, yet somehow Klaus seemed to bring out that side of her. He was unlike any other patient she'd ever had, but she wasn't going to give up on him. She wasn't a quitter, and the last thing this man needed was someone else giving up on him and leaving him to his own devices where his trust issues were concerned. "Look, you asked me what distinguishes you and your siblings so much that you're here in therapy and they aren't, right?"

"Yes," he said calmly, resting his hands lightly on the arms of his chair. The tapping of his feet had stopped, too, so she could only assume that his tone correctly relayed his internal emotional state. Hopefully, his _'tantrum'_ was over. "Everyone's fucked up, so why am I the only one who needs professional help?"

"I can help you answer _that_ question," Caroline told him, tone just as calm as his. "But that would require me to start asking you some heavy-duty questions, and we both know how you handle those."

His reply was short and slightly stiff. "I can take take it, Caroline."

"You're not understanding me. This is going to require you to dig deep and find answers to questions that you don't want to answer. You're going to have to take initiative and start telling me things, and you have to trust me, Klaus. You can't shut down when I start asking you questions, you _can't. _I'm going to make you talk about things that you want to forget or ignore. Starting now, your grace period is _over_. Even if you say that you don't want to talk about something, you will have to."

"I know, Caroline. I understand that." He did. He understood what she was trying to say, that she was going to pry open that locked box of hurt and anger hidden within him even if it killed her, and he wanted that. He wanted someone to just keep fighting back and get him out of this horrible funk he'd been feeling for the past five years. He'd living for Henrik instead of himself, all while pining for Tatia. Maybe he was mad at Kol, but a lot of that was just the irritation he felt because some part of him recognized that his brother was actually right.

"I don't think you do, Klaus," she said helplessly. "Especially since this is a unique situation. You see me outside of this office almost as much as you see me inside of it. I need you to be able to trust me and trust that I'm not just going to go telling everyone what I know. I need you to know that I'm not going to hurt you with this. I don't want to hurt you, Klaus, and I just- I keep saying. But that's literally what it comes down to: You need to know that I won't hurt you, and you need to trust me."

"I do," he said hoarsely, staring at her, meeting her gaze head on. She was genuinely worried about how he was going to take this conversation, and it just strengthened his need to prove that, contrary to popular belief, he could actually take care of himself. He could make responsible decisions. He _did _want to stop the pain. "I know what you're telling me, Caroline. I understand that."

"Okay," Caroline relented. She let out a deep breath and leaned back in her seat, Klaus mirroring her actions in his own chair. He gave her a tentative smile, which she returned, before he started tapping on the arms of his chair again.

"What about when we're with our friends?"

By this point, he was a part of the group. Sociable he was not, but his siblings had made it a point to induct him into their little social circle, and he was grateful for the distraction that the gang provided. While he could do without interacting with some of them, like Katherine's sister, others, like Stefan, had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome. He'd mentioned to Caroline last week that he'd canceled on lunch with Stefan to finish reading a book, but they'd rescheduled it and gone out to lunch today. It had been fun.

His family was a safety net that he wouldn't want to live without, but Nik was discovering that it was just easier to sometimes be around people who neither knew about nor cared about his failed marriage and turbulent childhood. Sometimes it was easier to smile when no one was expecting you to.

"What about it?" Caroline shrugged. "Treat me like you would treat anyone else."

"...How?"

"What do you talk to other people about?"

Nik's eyes widened, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Most of his daily interactions outside of work involved his family. He hadn't had much of a social life in London, having pulled away from his and Tatia's mutual friends after her death. Thanks to his siblings' interference, he did have some friends now, but off the top of his head, he couldn't think of any good conversation starters.

"How do we act like you don't know all of my secrets?"

"I don't know all of your secrets. In fact, I don't know any of your secrets."

"You will!" he exclaimed.

Caroline dropped her hands onto the table. She gave him a half-smile, the right side of her lips turning up as she recognized the real problem. He was worried that _she_ would let it slip somehow. "I'm not going to tell anyone that I'm your shrink, if that's what you're asking. You can tell whomever you want, up to you, but I won't say anything."

"Rebekah doesn't know yet."

"Okay."

"I feel like Henrik might talk to you about me."

"Okay."

"I feel like you may use whatever he tells you to psychoanalyze me and try to get me to talk."

"He hasn't told me anything so far," Caroline frowned. "Apart from the fact that you respond to emotion, but that's barely anything-"

"Wait, what? When did you see him?"

"Er, Wednesday? Yesterday? I think it was yesterday. Geez," she hunched over her desk. "Am I that busy?"

"What do you mean you saw him yesterday?" Nik asked as he shifted forward in his seat, ready to jump out of the chair at a second's notice. The session time wasn't nearly up yet, but the process of setting up these boundaries with Caroline had been emotionally exhausting in and of itself. Besides, if she had spoken to Henrik yesterday, then he needed to go have a talk with his little brother.

_Both_ his little brothers, in fact, considering that Kol knew about his psychiatry sessions and was just as likely as Henrik to go blabbering something he shouldn't to Caroline. He needed everyone to keep their mouth shut.

"He came to the weekly brunch thing we do. Rebekah brought him but she had to leave early, and since I could see he was disappointed, I started talking to him about how much he loves his siblings. He really looks up to you."

"Yes," Nik replied incredulously. "He does. Is it possible that I can go early? I know you're punctual and all of that, but there's honestly nothing that I'm capable of talking about right now."

The change in Caroline's mood was instantaneous. Where before she'd been calm and conversational, talking about Henrik and her behavior around him when they were in public, her tone was now sharp, words smooth. "You can't just decide to leave every time you want to shut down, Klaus. You are going to have to actually sit down and talk to me about your life."

"I know," he said to her as he stood up, grabbing his jacket from where it was hanging on the back of his chair. He held out his hands to appease her, wanting to wipe the crestfallen look from her face. "I will. I promise. Tuesday afternoon, I will walk in here and you can ask me anything you want on the topic of my wife. You asked me to trust you, and I did. Now trust _me_ when I say that I will talk about her. Right now, however, I have some brothers to go track down. So please, Caroline, excuse me."

Without waiting for an answer, he pushed back the chair, turned on his heel, and left her office, closing the door behind him. Before he could completely shut it, however, her voice filtered out. "Don't think this is over!" she called behind him, tone accusatorial. "I know what you're trying to do!"

He shook his head as he walked, trying to keep the smile off of his face as he passed Connor to get to the elevators. She thought he wouldn't talk, but he would. He would show her, he would show his family, but most importantly, he would show _himself_ that he could rise to the challenge.

* * *

**A/N: **Again, I'm so sorry about the wait. School makes it hard to write during the weekdays, so I typically only write on Thursdays and Fridays now. You guys can expect updates **every second Saturday. **Feel free to shoot me an ask/tweet on Tumblr/Twitter (I am sassyklaroline on both).

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and the Klaroline build-up. Hopefully no one is getting too impatient; I'd hate for you guys to just be skimming through, looking for Klaroline, and then not find what you're looking for.

No more review templates, sorry. Thank you all so much for your support so far. It means so much, you don't even know. I really, really love you guys.

~Meha


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thank you guys so much for your continued support and for bearing with me! I hit 350 reviews this morning, and I just don't even know what to say. Thank you guys _so much. _

Special thanks to the lovely, incredibly intelligent Briana, without whom none of this would be possible.

* * *

The plan had been to go see a movie before crashing at Nik's and waiting for their brother to get home, but the two of them had decided that they were starving at around 5:30, and had foregone the movie theater to go straight to Nik's place. Henrik and Kol raided their older brother's kitchen, piling the dining room table high with their treasure before splitting it up between the two of them, stacking the food onto separate plates, and trekking into the living room to marathon the Star Wars movies.

It was a good idea and Kol was all too happy to spend some quality time with his youngest brother, something he hadn't really had the chance to do despite said brother's move to New York, but he felt his trepidation only grow as he saw how nervous Henrik got over the course of the evening. Not only would the boy look up to front door every fifteen minutes, but also he was also continuously fidgeting, never letting himself grow comfortable on the couch.

"Henry," Kol asked suddenly, in the middle of A New Hope. "Why are we here?"

"My brother, asking the big questions," Henrik deadpanned, eyes not leaving the screen of his iPhone, which he was checking for what had to be the tenth time in fifteen minutes. "I'm only eighteen, Kol, you can't expect me to help you with your existential crises."

"Come on, Henry, don't do that, don't joke," Kol said seriously as he sat up in his seat. He leaned forward and turned his head to look at his youngest brother, concern in his eyes. The last few hours had been fun, but Henrik was clearly trying to distract himself from something. Kol, for the life of him, couldn't figure it out. "Why are we at _Nik's_ place?"

Henrik turned to his older brother, looking affronted. "It's my home, too."

"You've moved out," Kol pointed out as he waved his hand in the general direction of the front door. "I vaguely remember having to haul all of your belongings up two flights of stairs earlier this month."

In response, Henrik held up his own hand to gesture to the hallway leading into the depths of the apartment, which housed the bedrooms, his own included. "There are still some things in there."

The older brother shook his head and rolled his eyes, reaching forward to grab the remote from the coffee table in front of him. Pausing the movie, he turned to look at Henrik and raised his eyebrows. "Well, why are we here?"

Henrik paused, cringing slightly. He rubbed the back of his neck as he confessed, not meeting Kol's gaze. "We're waiting for Nik. I did something...stupid, and I feel like he may come home slightly angry with me. I'd rather just have him yell at me as soon as possible and then not have to worry about it later."

Kol couldn't help himself. He started laughing. It was common knowledge that Henrik did, at times, forget that Nik wasn't just his brother. Henrik was a good kid, Kol knew. He hadn't heard stories of any childhood shenanigans or Mikaelson mischief relating to Henrik, which meant that Nik hadn't had to actually _discipline _his youngest brother. It was more a matter of making sure that Henrik knew that Nik was there for him, that the entire family was there for him. No point in trying to teach the child lessons that he already knew.

It was funny to see Henrik squirming with tension at the thought of an actual fight with Nik, afraid of being lectured, since it was not a common occurrence.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Henrik demanded.

"Tell me," Kol managed to get out without breaking his smile. "What is it exactly that you did?"

The teenager sighed and shook his head, the roll of his eyes signifying how stupid he thought the whole situation was. "I said something about Nik to Caro- _shit_." Henrik looked up at his brother, his eyes wide, and expression wary. Nik wasn't a very _expressive _person. Just because Nik had told him that he was in therapy, that he was seeing Caroline, didn't mean that Kol knew as well. They were all family, yes, but some secrets weren't meant for everyone. This secret, especially, wasn't his to tell.

Kol, on the other hand, just watched his younger brother in silence, wanting to see how Henrik would react to this slip of the tongue. Nik had texted him after their outing at the park, telling him to not mention therapy to anyone else in the family, since Henrik was the only one who knew. Henrik, however, hadn't gotten that particular memo.

"It's not my secret to tell," Henrik said quietly. "I can't break Nik's trust."

"No, you definitely can't," Kol agreed in a strange tone. Henrik looked at his brother, frowning, only to see that Kol was trying to bite back a smile. When he saw Henrik looked at him, he simply shrugged again, letting the smile shine through. "What is it little brother?"

"What do you know?" Henrik narrowed his eyes.

Kol threw an arm over the back of the couch and made to resume the movie. "Apart from the fact that you've apparently already started planning Nik's wedding to Caroline, absolutely nothing."

"Bloody hell, that is _not_ what I said."

"Isn't it, though?"

"That is not what I said, Kol! How did you hear of this, anyway?" Henrik asked.

"That's not important," Kol said swiftly, choosing to refrain from telling his brother that Bonnie had sent him a very interesting text message asking if he'd ever marry Caroline. When he'd asked why she'd even wonder something that absurd, Bonnie told him about the conversation at lunch. Now- after finding out about Henrik's pesky habit of interfering- he chose to keep his mouth shut, especially because Nik could really walk in at any moment and did Kol really want to be having a conversation about Bonnie with Henrik, of all people, when that happened?

_No_.

So he turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Yes, well, regardless, it's probably a horrible idea to try your hand at setting up Nik. Especially when the woman you've chosen for him is his _therapist," _Kol said, his voice growing stern. "Do you realize how stupid you're being?"

The younger boy's expression brightened considerably at this news. His whole attitude was instantly turned around. "He told you?"

"Yes, he did. We had quite the chat about Caroline."

"I like her."

"Then why don't _you_ marry her and lay off Nik?" Kol joked.

"I was trying to be helpful," Henrik protested. He was almost whining, Kol thought, and it was more amusing than watching him squirm.

Finn and Nik had been the brothers who had been around Henrik constantly in the past nine years. He and Rebekah had been mainly in the US, having already been enrolled in college at the time of their parents' death. Elijah, on the other hand, who had been more established than his younger siblings, had the means to go spend a month in the UK to help with the arrangements for the funeral and the wake, even settling the matter of the estate and all of the family assets. He'd also inserted himself into the debate about Henrik's custody, but Nik had pulled through in the end, intent on keeping the young boy with him. As a result, Kol and Rebekah, while incredibly close to their brother, hadn't seen some aspects of his personality that betrayed how young Henrik really was.

"You were being the opposite of helpful, Henrik. Caroline is his therapist and-"

"Nik would be perfect for her! When was the last time our brother even cared enough about a woman to remember her name? He's always so busy thinking about Tatia-"

"Who do you think is helping him _not_ do that anymore? She's being paid to be his emotional support-"

"And he's letting her, Kol! Come on, she's fun and she's really beautiful and she doesn't let him walk all over her, I mean... You like her, don't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"For Nik. You think she would be a good significant other for Nik, right?"

"Why aren't you having this conversation with Katherine or Rebekah," Kol deflected, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked around to reassure himself that no one else could hear this conversation, even though he knew they were alone in the apartment. "This feels slightly emasculating, Henry."

"You've haven't thought about what kind of woman Nik would end up with," Henrik asked stupidly. "What, did you just think he'd be alone forever?"

"I'm not a sixteen-year-old girl, little brother, nor do I have the time to sit and daydream about what Nik's life is going to be like. I had no opinion of Tatia and I don't think that my opinion is needed now."

"Isn't that the point? You had no opinion of Tatia. You didn't care. I liked her because I lived with her and she made it a point to connect with me, but Caroline's different. She's already your friend, and everyone else's. I've talked to her a few times, and Nik clearly trusts her, despite what he says. I just think that she'd be good for him. Is it so wrong to want my brother to be happy?"

"No, it's not. But if you're going to start making stupid, suggestive comments to the woman in question, obviously people are going to have problems with it."

Henrik sighed. "You don't get it, Kol."

"Fine, explain it to me, Henrik!" Kol said loudly, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why is this so important to you?"

"Because I was there when Nik met Tatia," Henrik said dully. "I was there when he was nervous about which fucking tie to wear to their first date, and I was the first person he told when he decided to go and propose to her. In case you've forgotten, he chose _me _to be his best man, when he had three other brothers to choose from. And, you know, Tatia, she used to make dinner for me, and watch television with me. One year, she even showed up with him to my parent-teacher conferences. Do you remember when I started acting out, and he would call you lot because he just didn't know how to deal with me? Tatia talked him through that, and she talked _me _through that. I loved her, too. She broke _my_ heart, too. You all forget that when you were flying over the Atlantic Ocean, I was in some sterilized waiting room in Chelsea, trying to keep Nik from tearing his hair out and breaking walls."

Kol's heart, which had sunk to his stomach by now, ached for his younger brother. They all forgot, sometimes, since they were busy living their own lives. Yes, he had learned some major life lessons from Tatia's death, but how many times in a day did he actually sit down and think about her? About her affect on his life?

Henrik continued, clearly not expecting a response, "I didn't say anything the last time Nik was involved with a woman because I liked her well enough and I saw how much _Nik_ liked her. She tried with me, I know she cared about me, but she was never my friend. And sometimes, I felt like she almost...resented the fact that he had to care of me. I felt like- maybe she thought it was sweet when she married him that, you know, he cared so much about me, but then they actually did get married and I was still around and I had so much of his attention and I just-" Henrik paused to take a break. "She resented me, I know she did. But you can't tell Nik I said anything."

Slowly, Kol was starting to piece together what Henrik was saying. His brother was starting to speak rather desperately now, his expression betraying the amount of hurt he felt. Clearly this issue was something that had been bothering him for a while, but he'd never told Nik. Unfortunately, guilt could eat a person up alive. It was important to disabuse Henrik of this notion as soon as possible. "Henry, do you honestly believe that Tatia cheated on him because of _you_?"

"It's not like she told you otherwise, is it?" the boy responded stubbornly, picking up on the edge in his brother's tone.

"It's not your fault, Henry. You don't have to make up for the loss of one wife by going out and finding him another one!"

"That's not what I'm doing. I'm just- I'm trying to repay him for everything he's done for me by finding someone who makes him happy. Someone who listens to him and understands him, someone who isn't afraid to stand up to him and pull him out of this phase. That's what Caroline does, right?"

"She's a professional, Henry," Kol said sharply, and even though he didn't want to answer Henrik's earlier question about his own feelings toward Caroline, he couldn't help it. He thought back to how happy Caroline had been when she'd gotten her current job, how hard she'd worked for it. He knew she _still_ worked for it, and how she genuinely cared about her patients. Henrik was right, though, she was attractive. Nik would be a fool not to see that, and Kol had meant every word he'd said jokingly to Nik the other day in Central Park. If it was ever going to happen, and, really, it was inevitable, even he could see, it should happen when there was nothing at stake for Caroline professionally.

The way Kol looked at it, the woman had been there for him, supportive. Even when he was going to open up 21 Club, she'd been the one to sit down with him and make a pro-con list. Caroline had helped him with his business presentation for Mikaelson-Pierce, and even before that, she'd always made it known to him that she considered him a friend.

The fact of the matter was that Caroline _cared, _plain and simple, and he didn't want to screw her over professionally on the slim chance that his idiot teenage brother managed to convince Niklaus to do anything.

Henrik, sometimes, could be _so _stupid.

"I just think that-"

"I'm actually quite sick of talking about this," Kol cut off his younger brother yet again, swinging his legs over the side of the couch and planting them firmly on the ground. He grabbed the remote, shot Henrik a glare, and then resumed the movie. "Let's just watch the bloody movie, Henry."

"We've watched Star Wars five million times!"

"It was your idea to drag me here to do this in the first place!"

"I didn't realize Nik would be so late. What time are his sessions, anyway?"

"Why don't you stop worrying about Nik's life and start worrying about your own?" Kol huffed.

"My life is boring as hell."

"You're eighteen, how is that even possible?"

"Well, considering that the most popular bar in the city is owned and operated by my _brother_, I can't exactly go flashing a fake ID there, now, can I?"

"Don't tell me children these days need _alcohol _to have fun. In my day- _Christ_ I sound so old- we had other things to do for entertainment."

"Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking me about girls?"

"It wasn't, actually," Kol smirked. "But now that you've brought up that topic, let's talk about girls, Henry."

Henrik, thankfully, was spared from having to continue that conversation. The lock on the front door clicked and turned, and before they knew it, the large wooden door was being pushed in. Nik appeared, running a hand through his hair as he blinked rapidly. "What the hell..." he muttered, looking around the brightly lit apartment.

"In here," Kol called out from the living room. At Henrik's panicked look, Kol shrugged. "What? You wanted to get the yelling over with, right? So go, get the yelling over with."

Henrik didn't respond.

"What are you two doing here?" Nik asked suspiciously as he shrugged off his coat, opening the foyer closet to hang it up. He could hear the TV from his position, the telltale signs of light sabers clashing against each other blaring out from his speakers thirty feet away. Among all the other decisions he had made lately, like agreeing to therapy sessions with Katherine's best friend, he was also starting to rethink the decision to buy a place with hardwood flooring.

Sound _carried. _

"Having a movie marathon," Henrik answered, smiling tentatively. Nik fixed him with a glare, and Henrik's tentative smile disappeared instantly as he saw how irritated his elder brother looked. Kol, on the other hand, simply grinned easily and leaned back onto the leather couch, making himself more comfortable than he already was. He reached for the bowl of popcorn that was resting precariously on the arm of the couch and raised his eyebrows at Nik. "Would you like some?"

"_No_, Kol."

"No need to be so hostile, Niklaus, I'm only offering you food."

"In my own home, Kol? How hospitable."

"I thought you guys patched things up?" Henrik asked in confusion, pointing from Kol to Nik. "Why do you sound so angry?"

"We did patch things up. This is just for fun," Kol offered with a smirk. "Am I right, Nik?"

Nik turned to glare at Kol before devoting his attention back to the teenager. "Do you realize how stupid you're being?"

"I'm really sorry, Nik," Henrik said quickly. "In hindsight, it was stupid, but I didn't really say anything awkward to Caroline."

"Except suggesting to her that she should _marry_ you," Kol said to Nik, taking up where Henrik left off. "Can't forget that part." The younger boy glared daggers at Kol, but Kol ignored him, choosing instead to continue seriously. "It was made a joke when someone also suggested that _I_ could marry Caroline, but the point is that our little Cupid, here, doesn't realize that his interference can cause some undesirable side effects."

"You said _what_?" Nik asked loudly, running his hands through his hair. He started to look around the room, directing his gaze at every object in the room except for Henry. He was so incredibly angry at the fact that Henry thought it was okay to just go saying things like that. Caroline was his therapist, and there was a line that they couldn't cross. Jokes were fine between friends, and he knew that Henrik and Caroline were becoming friends, but she was still his _therapist_. Henrik was smarter than that. "Why would you say something like that?"

"I...thought it would be funny?" Henrik said, sounding more like he was asking a question than answering one.

"There is a line you do not cross with the woman who is psychoanalyzing me _twice a week."_

"I know, I'm sorry!"

"What else did you say to her?"

Henrik thought back on all the times he'd talked to Caroline, about Nik, about anything, trying to find anything else. But there was genuinely nothing. The handful of times they'd talked, three, _three times, _he'd only mentioned to her about how Nik had raised him. How Nik was different than what people perceived him to be. And, okay, yes, he had cracked the joke about marriage, but it was just a joke. Besides, she'd literally given him the perfect opening for delivery, how was he supposed to resist? "Nothing, I didn't say anything to her. Why, what did she tell you?"

"She told me that you told her that I 'respond to emotion', whatever the hell that means. Do I need to remind you that you are only eighteen-years-old and not, in fact, an adult who can go around saying whatever he likes to whomever he wants for purposes that only he knows?"

"Alright, Nik, come now," Kol said as he stood up, placing a hand on Nik's shoulder, pulling his older brother back. Nik didn't break his gaze from Henrik, though, and the teenager looked utterly disheartened.

"Don't, Kol," Nik shoved him off, leaving Kol to move back a few steps to regain his balance. "He's eighteen now, he's not a child. He needs to learn how to behave around people. He can't keep shooting his mouth off."

"I wasn't shooting off my mouth-"

"If Caroline was not as intelligent as she is, what you went saying to her could have made her think that I saw her as anything other than my therapist, Henrik. Do you realize that I actually look forward to going? She helps, and I can't explain it. I don't know how- or why, really- but I trust her. And she puts up with me. I would really appreciate you not ruining that for the sake of some stupid prank of yours."

"Right," Henrik said quietly. "Alright then."

He didn't wait for a response from either of his brothers. He just bent down to grab his phone and his keys from the coffee table before pushing past Nik to go to the front door. Within a minute, after pulling out his jacket from the foyer closet and putting on his shoes, Henrik was out the door.

After a moment of silence, Kol spoke up. "That was- I mean- You handled that well. Considering."

"Shut up, Kol." Klaus collapsed onto the nearest sofa; head tilted back to look at the ceiling.

"He _was_ wrong, though."

"Shut up, Kol," Klaus said dully.

"I've never spoken to Caroline about you, just so you know," Kol said, raising his arms and then dropping them to his sides.

"Shut-"

"Do you want to watch Star Wars?"

Klaus let out a deep breathe before sitting up and running his hands over his face. "Yes. _Yes_, that is exactly what I want to do."

* * *

"Stefan and I are never going to get married," Rebekah said sadly, staring at the beer in front of her. "It's just never going to happen."

"Rebekah, come on," Caroline groaned, throwing her head back in exasperation. She stretched her neck, blonde hair falling into her face, and slammed her hands onto the bar. "I don't want to talk about this _again."_

"You are my friend and it is your duty to help me through my time of need," Rebekah reminded her, grabbing the bottle and bringing it up to her lips. She took a large gulp before pulling it away from her lips and looking down at it, twirling the bottle in her hands. The beer sloshed up against the sides of the glass bottle.

Caroline frowned. "Can you not do that? It's unappealing."

"Unappealing to _whom?"_

"Me. The person sitting in front of you and trying to have a conversation with you."

"I want to talk about Stefan!"

"You always talk about Stefan."

"I do not _always _talk about Stefan," Rebekah protested. "I talk to you about a whole bunch of things, like movies and books and how much I hate those stupid vampire novels with the sparkly people and I talk to you about my cases and how much Elena annoys me and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Caroline said, putting her hand up to interrupt Rebekah. "We can talk about Stefan. Let me just go get a drink, okay?"

"No need," Rebekah said as she signaled to one of the bartenders. Since it was just she and Caroline on this busy Saturday night, the girls had chosen to do Kol a small favor by taking two seats at the bar instead of occupying their usual high-profile corner booth. He wasn't actually at the club -he took Saturday nights off, leaving the running of his club to his manager- but no doubt he'd hear about it. Rebekah and Caroline would probably get a box of chocolates each. If they were lucky.

Only if Kol was in the mood, though.

Dean, one of Kol's earliest hires, leaned over the bar to ask them what they wanted. Rebekah ordered for both of them, and Dean came back three minutes later with two fruity drinks that probably had more alcohol than Caroline would have liked to ingest in the entire night. One look at Rebekah's expectant expression, though, and Caroline knew she'd have to take one for the team.

"I'm only having two drinks tonight, Bekah," Caroline warned her friend as she reached out to grab the dainty martini glass. In high school and college, she'd been the party girl, unafraid to go out and do whatever, drink whatever. After a particularly horrendous hangover a few nights after breaking up with Tyler, however, she'd decided to never again allow herself to wake up in that position. The memory of that day-long headache was still burned into the back of her brain, and she'd be damned if she was peer-pressured into drinking more than she wanted to at the age of_ twenty-eight_.

"Fine, but I'll be having a little more than that," Rebekah shot back, downing half her glass in one go. She blinked rapidly before shaking her head and looking at Caroline. "Call my brother if I get drunk, will you?"

"Sure," Caroline agreed readily. It wasn't anything she hadn't done before. Rebekah always called Kol when she got drunk at the bar, claiming that she didn't want to tear Elijah away from what little time he had for his daughters.

"You know, Stefan and I have been together for like, years and every time we get too serious, he just breaks up with me? And I take it, Caroline; I just take it lying down. I let him walk all over me."

"Oh, shit, we're really going to talk about Stefan?"

"_Yes_, you bitch!"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, okay, I've known Stefan just as long as you have and he is going to take his own time to do things, Rebekah, he doesn't want to fuck it up. So...maybe he won't propose _tomorrow_, but he will propose. And when he does get down on one knee, it is only going to be in front of _you."_

"How long am I supposed to wait?" Rebekah asked as she downed the rest of her drink. "I mean- whoa that is _strong_, what did Dean put in here?"

Caroline, who had only sipped at the drink, didn't feel the effects at all. Even so, Rebekah shouldn't be feeling this tipsy after just one drink. "Hey, Beks, when was the last time you ate?" They hadn't eaten anything in the hour they'd been at the bar; just nursed a few beers- one for Caroline and two for Rebekah- and Rebekah had mentioned having back-to-back meetings with clients all day. She didn't know what it was exactly that Rebekah dealt with, but she did know her friend well enough to realize that if Rebekah was immersed in work all day, she'd probably forgotten to eat.

Two beers plus a strong martini on an empty stomach would definitely make for a tipsy Bekah, and with the way the woman was going, Caroline would be calling Kol sooner than she thought.

Rebekah ended up ordering another drink, and by the time she finished it a half an hour later, Caroline had been treated to hearing a slightly unsteady version of the other blonde's entire romantic history with Stefan Salvatore. Their first meeting during their freshman year, how smitten the boy had been with Elena Gilbert- something that still irritated Rebekah to this day- and how Rebekah had been his best friend the entire time. Then one day, Rebekah had gone on a date with Galen Vaughn, come home smiling like mad, and the jealous monster in Stefan's chest had awoken.

Caroline, to her credit, survived six months of angst-filled phone calls from Stefan before she finally cracked and told the younger, blonder Salvatore that the current object of his affections had pined for him for _years_ while he'd been off making eyes at his brother's girl.

That one conversation had changed everything, and the next time Caroline visited New York, the two were practically attached at the hip.

A lot had changed for them since then, obviously, but not necessarily in a bad way. Rebekah had decided that she'd spent far too much of her life simply wanting to be with Stefan, and she didn't want to continue that way. She was a Mikaelson, dammit, with a reputation to uphold and a brain that could do just that; no point in wasting it. After graduating from Columbia Law School, she'd joined one of the top fifty law firms in the city (or so she said to Caroline). So much of her time was devoted to her job that Caroline didn't blame Stefan for how clingy he could be. He loved Rebekah, he wanted her, but she would inevitably put her work first and then they'd break up because she was quite literally never around.

The whole situation sucked, really, especially for Bekah. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, not wanting to sacrifice her career for the love of her life. Caroline didn't really think that anyone should be put in that place, but life was about making sacrifices. Stefan had tried- and succeeded- at cutting back on his hours, so why couldn't Rebekah?

Who knew?

It wasn't her life after all.

"He's never gonna wanna marry me," Rebekah sighed into her empty martini glass, swirling the olive stick around. It clinked against the glass, and Caroline had to clench her hands into fists to physically prevent herself from reaching out and stopping Rebekah's hand.

Stefan had told her that he'd actually been carrying around a ring for six months now, but he was too worried to actually do anything with it. Clearly the two needed to have a serious talk about their relationship, Caroline thought, propping up her elbow on the bar, resting her head in her palm. "Sweetie, do you want me to call your brother now?"

"Yes, please," Rebekah hiccupped. "Call Nik, please." She hummed softly before placing her arms on the bar and then using them as a pillow for her head.

"Nik?" Caroline stared. "I thought you wanted me to call Kol?"

"No, Kol will be, uh, out, right? Kol does things. And er, Henry, _Henry_! He's a teenager. Can't come in, won't come in, no no no."

"Okay, then I'll call Elijah," Caroline said, desperation coloring her tone. "He can come right?"

"Judge-y, stiff, Elijah?" Rebekah blinked up at her. "'Oh Bekah,' he'll sigh. 'Why do you feel the need to inebriate? It is most uncut!'"

"Uncut?"

"You know, like...jungle people! Shit, what's the word?"

"Uncouth?"

"Yes! That! That is the word."

"How about I just call Stefan and ask him to take you home?"

"But I want Niiiiiiik. Get me Nik. Only...Only Nik," Rebekah said softly, finally closing her eyes. Caroline looked around frantically, double-checking to see if Kol was, by some miracle, at the bar, but he wasn't.

Just her luck.

She'd already seen too much of Klaus outside of the office than she was comfortable with, but this couldn't be helped. Rebekah got what Rebekah wanted, and she'd asked for her older brother. Caroline would deliver just that.

Quickly fishing into Rebekah's purse, she pulled out the white iPhone, Harry Potter cover and all, and swiped her finger on the screen to unlock it. Thankfully, the blonde Brit didn't have a password, so Caroline was dialing Klaus' number within seconds.

He picked up almost immediately. "Hello?"

"Hey, uh, Klaus?" Caroline asked softly.

"Hello?" he replied loudly. "What- Rebekah?"

There was too much background noise, wherever he was, so she'd have to speak up. "Actually it's Caroline. I'm with Bekah at the club and she's a little drunk and um, _asleep_ on the bar. She asked me to call you because she didn't want to bother Stefan."

"_Caroline_?" he asked in confusion. He continued quickly, "Well, that's pointless because Stefan is actually _with_ me right now. We just got out of the Knicks' game."

"Oh, how was that?"

"It was okay. They lost. Apparently that's very common but- what?" he pulled the phone away from his mouth, voice growing faint as he spoke to Stefan. "Oh, yeah, okay, yeah, I'll do that. Caroline, we're just going to come get her. Stay there."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere so..."

"Yeah, see you soon."

He hung up abruptly, and she was left to sadly smile at her friend who was, by now, fast asleep. If it weren't Kol's club, Rebekah wouldn't have even dared to do such a thing.

Twenty minutes later, as Caroline checked Facebook for the fifteenth time that night, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see the smiling face of Stefan Salvatore. Klaus was standing right next to him, hair looking ruffled by the wind.

"Hello," Stefan greeted, eyes twinkling as his gaze fell on Rebekah. "She really hit the bottle, didn't she?"

"That she did," Caroline said agreeably, pushing off her stool. Now that the guys were here to pick up Rebekah, there was no reason to stay.

"Did she say anything about me?"

Caroline let out a laugh. "Oh, sweetie," she pointed to Rebekah. "That is _all you._"

At that, Klaus let out a laugh, and she let her attention wander to him. "Hello. How was the Knicks' game?"

"Pretty boring," he said truthfully. "I'm more of a football man myself."

"He means 'soccer'," Stefan called back over his shoulder as he nudged Rebekah awake.

"No, I mean 'football'," Klaus retorted good-naturedly, a smile shining through. He had dimples, Caroline noticed. "Because that is what the rest of the world calls it, and that is what the magnificent sport deserves to be called."

Stefan shook his head. "Brits and their egos."

He finally succeeded at waking up Rebekah. She groaned and stood up, eyes still closed as she ran her hands over Stefan's torso to find the lapels of his coat. When her hands reached their destination, she pulled him closer to her and blinked rapidly, trying to expel the last vestiges of sleep. "Stefan?"

"Right here, babe."

"I didn't want you to see me like this."

"Beks..."

"No, I just-" she reached up to rub her eyes, smudging her makeup in the process. "I didn't want you to see me drunk."

"Rebekah, I want to see you in all of your moods, okay? I don't want you to have to go get drunk with Caroline when you get mad at me, I want you to talk to me," Stefan said, grabbing Rebekah's hands and pulling them to him.

"Hey!" Caroline protested. "Caroline did not get drunk."

"Caroline got tipsy enough to start referring to herself in the third person," Klaus muttered under his breath so Stefan and Rebekah couldn't hear. They were off in their own world by this point anyway, with Stefan's hands cradling Rebekah's face, his thumbs wiping the tears that were falling.

Caroline looked up at Klaus in surprise. "Was that a joke?"

"It happens on occasion," he smiled. "It's been a good night. Besides, what happened to not expecting certain behaviors from me?"

"I- um. Yeah, no, I just- You're different tonight."

"Stefan doesn't walk on eggshells. Neither do you. The game may have been boring, but the company was not," Klaus shrugged. "Like I said, a good night."

"That's great," she smiled at him. "I'm glad."

Stefan and Rebekah finally emerged from their bubble, turning to Klaus and Caroline. "I'm going to take her home," Stefan said, referring to their shared apartment. It was technically theirs, but Stefan moved out to live with Jeremy whenever he and Rebekah broke up. It was a complicated process, but Stefan didn't complain. Caroline, frankly, couldn't care less.

"Great, we can share a cab," Caroline said eagerly. Stefan nodded, opening his mouth to say something before being interrupted by Klaus.

"Actually, Caroline, I was hoping I could talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh," she said, looking hesitantly from one expectant gaze to the other. Rebekah hiccupped again, breaking the brief silence, and Caroline decided to just let the couple go. "You know what, just take her home. It'll be easier for me to just get my own cab anyway."

"We can split a cab," Klaus stepped in. "That isn't a problem. But I do need to talk to you."

"Okay," Stefan said. "Well, have fun doing that. I will see you later, Caroline, and Klaus I will see you at work on Monday."

"Yeah, thanks for the ticket, mate," Klaus said as Stefan and Rebekah walked past them toward the front door. Klaus gestured to two bar stools in front of them, and Caroline took a seat, finding herself exactly where she'd started out. "I'm sorry for keeping you, I know it's late."

"No, it's fine."

"Can I buy you a drink? I mean..."

"No, no. That's slightly inappropriate. You're my patient. I am on call at all times."

"Right, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. See, you have a really close friendship with siblings. Like, Rebekah and Kol, apparently, you're close to Kol? I didn't know you were close to Kol, but that's not the point. They may tell you things, like Henrik does, that I don't want you to know. Or maybe things that I want to be able to tell you on my own time and I don't want to be...blindsided, I guess."

Caroline tilted her head to the side, looking at him from a new angle. He wasn't as relaxed as he'd been in the presence of his sister and Stefan, but his eyes were a lot softer than they were during sessions. She couldn't help the amusement that injected itself into her tone. "I don't know how you're going to take this, but ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, your family and I do not talk about you."

"Oh, I know, I'm not that self-absorbed," he agreed. "But it has come to my attention that my teenage brother has made jokes and talked to you about me and I don't know what you know about me. That makes me uncomfortable."

"I see."

"I would appreciate it if you spoke to Henrik about boundaries."

"Boundaries," Caroline repeated.

"Yes, I know you're fond of those. I don't know the protocol, but I was hoping you would speak to him about what he can say about me when in your presence. He's had a bit of an issue around people his own age after we've moved and I don't want to say he can't be your friend because that is slightly ridiculous and any idiot can see that you're quite amicable, but you told me to trust you. And I can't do that if I don't know what I'm trusting you with."

Oh. Well, this was different. She typically didn't have to worry about familial interference with patients over the age of twenty-one because she never actually interacted with family, but this was a special case where she interacted with family all the time. Case in point, sitting here at a bar stool in his brother's bar, Klaus occupying the seat that her friend, his sister, had been using just a half an hour before.

Caroline really had no choice but to agree. "I can see where you're coming from, so yes. Of course I will."

"Great," he said, offering her a smile. "Thank you for delaying your trip home."

"Well, you asked nicely, so," she replied, pushing off her stool just as he did. It made for an awkward situation, with less than an inch between them, but then Klaus tilted his head to her, signaling that she should move first, and the moment was broken.

What the _hell?_

Neither of them spoke until the exited the building. "Are we splitting a cab?" he asked as they stared out onto the busy street. "Which way are you?"

She made a fist with her hand and pointed to the right with her thumb, arm bent at the elbow. Klaus nodded in response and tilted his head the opposite direction. "I'm over there."

"Right."

"Right then."

"So, I'll see you Tuesday?" she asked apprehensively as she pulled her coat tighter around her, stepping closer to the edge of the sidewalk. It was the end of September, and the New York chill was starting to set in. No doubt it'd be freezing by this time on a December night, but they still had some relatively warm nights left.

Klaus started walking away, too, calling back an answer over his shoulder. "Yes, Tuesday."

Tuesday, she thought as she raised her hand to hail a cab. One stopped almost immediately, and she thought back to the night when they'd taken one cab from her office to the club.

Klaus Mikaelson was seriously something else.

* * *

"Hey," Katherine said as she padded into their bedroom, closing the door behind her. Elijah looked up, placing his files on his lap above the blankets, watching as his wife bent down to grab the remote from the TV cabinet.

"Girls asleep?" Elijah asked as she slipped into bed beside him, tangling her legs with his.

She grinned. "It's nine o'clock on a Sunday night, 'Lijah, what do you think?"

"You're right, that was a stupid question."

"Hmm," she hummed as she snuggled closer to him, lifting his right arm and pulling it around her. Her husband took the hint; abandoning whatever papers for work he was reading and placing the entire file on his bedside table. Elijah had to stretch, and she was treated to the sight of his taut back muscles stretching his t-shirt. He may feel more comfortable in suits and starched shirts, but Katherine personally found Elijah most attractive when he was disheveled.

"What are we watching?" Elijah asked her as she turned on the television.

"You can choose, I don't mind, as long as it isn't news," Katherine told him, resting her head in the crook between his shoulder and his neck. "I'm glad we decided to go to Coney Island yesterday. The girls really needed that. It wasn't easy being sick for so long."

"It was fun to see them yell at each other though."

"Elijah!"

"What? It's nice to see that my daughters have some fight in them. They get along too well sometimes, that's bad. Then they can get powerful and overthrow us."

"Overthrow us? They are four and _two_."

"They are getting bigger every day, please _don't_ take my warnings lightly."

"Oh, 'Lijah," Katherine teased. "It's okay if you can't resist their puppy dog faces. We have a wonderful gene pool, our daughters are blessed. It's just hard to resist their cuteness."

"Karen has this face for when she's demanding something from me, she looks so proud and she stands just like you."

"She acts like _you," _Katherine disagreed with a raise of her eyebrows. "That child will come with me to the office and glare at everyone until they stop looking at her."

"Too full of sass, that one."

"I can't wait to see what happens when she starts dating."

"What?" Elijah said seriously, looking down at his wife in surprise. "_Dating_? She's not going to be dating until she's thirty!"

"We'll see, 'Lijah," Katherine said sweetly, patting her husband on the arm. "Now stop talking, the show is starting."

Dating, Elijah thought, tuning out the television. His little girls?

Never.

* * *

**A/N: **So the review templates are back because I'm obnoxious and I love reviews and you guys review more when there's a template. I will be updating every two weeks, though the next update may be slightly delayed because I have two midterms this week. Yay, school. You can always leave me an ask on tumblr or tweet at me on Twitter, I am **sassyklaroline** on both. Reviews always help, too. (hint, hint). Okay, I'll stop now. The Stebekah was inserted because of Dan and the Raughn was inserted because of me. No, really, I'm done now.

_Dear Meha, _

_How dare you take so long to update? schOOL IS NOT IMPORTANT, QUIT SCHOOL AND WRITE FANFICTION ALL DAY. _

_The Henrik argument (made sense/came out of nowhere/poor kid can I go give him a hug/ he needs to stop being an arrogant jerk)_

_Everybody give it up for Kol. I can see how much you love Kol, Meha. I'm (glad/mad) because I (hate/love) Kol. Look, Kol!_

_I (liked/hated/didn't notice) your slight mention of Kennett. _

_OMG Stebekah! Raughn! I ship (Stebekah/Raughn). Bekah deserves ALL THE THINGS. _

_Aw, Caroline noticed that Klaus had dimples! They kind of had a moment. Did they kind of have a moment?_

_No, seriously, the Stebekah was (cute/not cute) insert (more/less) Stebekah please. _

_Good talk Klaroline!_

_awh KALIJAH SO SWEET. _


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys!

So a few months ago, I put up an official hiatus notice for this fic, in which I said that I'd be writing the rest of the fic in one go before posting the next twenty or so chapters.

I didn't know it at the time, (no, honestly, I _didn't), _but I was lying. I don't really ship Klaroline anymore, and to be honest, I don't even like the show anymore. They've played with my emotions too much, tried to make me watch some pretty shitty writing unfold, and they've reduced someone who used to be one of my favorite characters, into someone that is just- not even a character anymore, simply a prop.

I'm really sorry to leave you guys hanging about this fic. If any of you are super angry and want to send me anon-hate, you can do so on tumblr where I am **_coralaheyed._**If you guys want to know what was going to happen in this fic, then you can always send me a message off anon on tumblr or here, if you'd like.

Thank you guys for supporting me through this fic, for leaving reviews and constructive criticism, and befriending me. And, even though I haven't updated this fic in months, some of you still leave me reviews. I think that's great, and I'm sorry for leading you guys on.

Thank you for everything, and I'm really sorry for doing this.

~Meha


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